There were still some guards there, which meant Henley was still around somewhere. They saw her and made a move towards her, weapons warily out—and she surprised them by attacking right away and hitting their pressure points until they were unconscious. Her movements were quiet so as not to attract unnecessary attention, but it was obvious she didn’t need to be, because the men left were preoccupied with something else.
Or someone else.
She followed the noise, not surprised when it stopped just at the dining room they’d eaten in earlier. The door was locked and the guards were trying to pound it down, but she disabled them quickly and picked the lock herself. She slammed it open and blinked at the bright lights, right before her vision adjusted to the sight.
Henley was tied down on a chair, his jaw dislocated and his huge body heaving. In front of him stood Jason, a sword in his hand. He glanced at her entrance.
“You should leave, princess,” he murmured, eyeing her kimono.
Isabella cleared her throat. “Jason, what are you doing?”
The sound of her voice made surprise flit in his gaze before he was eyeing her from head to toe in shock.
“Isabella?”
She nodded.
“Who altered you?” he asked.
“It doesn’t matter. What’s going on here? We should leave,” she said.
Jason shook his head and growled. “Not until I find out the name of this man’s backer.”
The tip of the sword stood poised against Henley’s stomach, whose eyes widened.
“You bastard—”
The sword slid in, cutting through flesh. Blood flowed out, dripping on the floor.
“Jason…” Isabella said warningly, not liking this one bit. There was a certain cold-bloodedness in his gaze that was never there before, and it worried her.
The sword twisted, effectively locking in place. Henley went limp, eyes closing. Isabella stepped forward, but Jason was already moving back, his blue eyes clearing.
“He didn’t have the information,” he said shortly before sauntering away. Jason went towards her and gave her a hard hug, burying his head on her neck. “Jesus, Iz. I’m so glad you’re alive.”
The nickname he’d always used on her made her realize he sounded like a lost boy. She hugged him back as tight as she could, feeling the tension flowing all over his body.
“This place was a nightmare,” he muttered. “I was trying to spy on them when you followed me, and I got caught. I didn’t think you’d return for me.”
“What the hell kind of statement is that? Of course I’d return for you,” she scolded him, holding on.
They stayed there like that for a while before Isabella reluctantly pulled away. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed something slide down Henley’s unmoving form. She turned her head in that direction, watching Henley’s phone slide down his leg, along with a piece of paper. Jason’s head turned in the same direction she was looking at, and a frown formed on his lips as he approached the dead man.
He picked up both the phone and the piece of paper, turning it over. Isabella watched the frown on his face freeze, then transform into something horrible—a cross between shock and revulsion. Isabella took a step forward.
“What’s wrong?”
Jason didn’t say anything, worrying her again. His hand fisted, crumpling the paper, but she wasn’t sure he was even aware of it.
“Jason?”
He shook his head and closed his eyes. Isabella took his hand gently, a soothing gesture. Then she pried it open, where the paper he crumpled lay.
Gingerly, she opened it and read the contents. It was a list of names, ones that sounded familiar. Isabella realized that she knew them. They were the names of some of the kids in their clan, all young ones who hadn’t reached the age of fifteen. Below the names was a note to sell them to the highest bidder, and a promise that finance was coming soon to help out the slave group.
Below the note was Isaac Hart’s signature.
*****
By two in the morning, they had managed to capture all of the guards, while some of the pirates that had been on the island during that time that hadn’t been captured had fled. It was thanks to the joint effort of the new batch of slaves, who weren’t malnourished yet and still had enough strength to fight back and direct the weak ones to the ships. Isabella helped as best as she could, though it was Dylan who took charge of the whole operation, for which she was grateful for—she’d been functioning on autopilot since reading that piece of paper.
Jason had been on autopilot, too, though he did his best to relay whatever information he could to help them out. Apparently, he’d been trying to find out who Henley’s financer was for the longest time, but hadn’t gotten any relevant information. He was only able to pretend to be a low-rank pirate who wasn’t privy to meetings and such. Then they found him out, and it had been too late.
They managed to break through the mini vault in Henley’s office, which procured more documents they needed to confirm that Isaac was really involved. His signature was in most of them, and Isabella and Jason recognized some other names of minor financers. Now the issue lay in how to get Isaac to confess, because whatever documents they had didn’t hold well unless there was a verbal confession. Isaac physically couldn’t leave his home due to a curse that rooted him in place, hence the reason he couldn’t come here and help them out himself—at least, that’s what she thought.
Was his involvement the other reason?
It all gave her a headache. So Isabella concentrated her efforts in helping organize the children in ships, getting to know the older teens and giving them assurances that everything was alright. There was also the matter of getting them proper treatment and food. Robin handled the treatment part, having had background training in first aid.
But they still needed to get off of this island—fast.
They loaded the last ship with the warehouse goods, with the plan to sell them and use the money to fund the children who didn’t have homes to go to. They counted the children as three hundred in total, with only two hundred left alive after the general chaos. They kept some guards alive in the prison cells below the ships for further interrogation back home, to be handled by professionals. But they only lasted an hour before they took their own lives, and it made Dylan’s forehead throb visibly as he ordered them to be thrown to sea.
Then they burned the island to the ground, leaving only smoke and ashes.
They set sail just as it steadily got darker, and Isabella felt the lack of sleep seep into her bones. But she was used to sleepless days from her countless missions, and she powered through by eating and taking charge in this part of the mission.
They took two ships, with Jason and the two teens manning the first, since Jason knew how to. Isabella and Dylan took the second, but she made sure to avoid him and kept herself busy with finding accommodations for everyone. Both ships were crowded and those that couldn’t be squeezed in rooms slept on deck, and soon silence filled the air.
Isabella went to the ship’s bow and watched the quiet ocean. It was a small blessing that it didn’t rain and there wasn’t a coming storm.
God. What was she going to do about Isaac?
The question was still running—screaming—in her mind when she heard familiar footsteps come closer, then a presence beside her. Isabella didn’t turn her head. Dylan’s hands gripped the railing as he watched the sea with her, and in that unspoken moment, she remembered their kiss from earlier.
Finally, Dylan spoke. “I’ll help you catch him.”
She kept quiet. Then she sighed. “How?”
“We’ll find a way. Enemies always reveal their hand when you least expect it.”
That was true. What came after didn’t sit well, though—that she was going to have to take over as clan leader if it turned out Isaac really was the enemy. The evidence was there.
But her heart refused to accept it. Not yet.
They both stayed silent, bo
th minds heavy with their own thoughts.
CHAPTER TWELVE
“Welcome home, everyone.”
Isaac’s voice washed over Dylan’s ears, his figure standing in the middle of the area where they docked. A guard ship had met them twenty minutes prior and had guided them back here, and from this far, he could see Jason approach the clan leader and speak to him for a few minutes. There was tension on Isaac’s face coupled with disapproval, and Jason’s shoulders were filled with the same tension. Dylan waited for it to spill over into a mess, his hands ready to turn into claws in case he needed to stop it.
But the brothers didn’t fight. Isaac pulled Jason for a hug instead, and though it was almost perfunctory, at least it was far from a fight. Jason left towards the cave, guiding the first batch of children, and Dylan breathed a small sigh of relief.
The panther clan leader sauntered over to him. When he was near enough, Dylan gave him a nod. Isaac nodded back, eyes glancing at the children filing out and being guided by the older ones.
“Didn’t think you could do it,” he commented.
There was no open aggression in the panther shifter’s tone, and Dylan decided to take the words at face value.
“It was personal for me,” he replied easily. “I wouldn’t want it to be anything other than successful.”
He felt more than saw Isaac tensing again, but the neutral expression on his face remained. Someone approached them from behind Dylan. Suddenly whatever neutral expression the clan leader had on his face disappeared, to be replaced by joy and relief. He stepped forward and opened his arms.
Isabella fell in them without hesitation, hugging him back. This hug wasn’t perfunctory at all—in fact, it was so affectionate that there was no mistaking who Isaac valued the most in this team. He stepped back to sweep her over with his gaze, and displeasure crossed his face when he saw that she had some minor injuries on her. They all did, but the lift of whatever barrier the island had the moment they sailed away had worked its wonders on them, their shifting abilities helping heal the major injuries faster.
But it was Robin who worked on the rest. Using her witch healing abilities, she cured kids that could barely walk and were too weak to function, lending them some necessary strength until they got here. Dylan searched for her in the crowd and found her almost asleep on her feet, blinking her eyes repeatedly and shuffling with the children. She stopped just near him and nearly swayed, and his arm automatically shot out to steady her.
Simon was there in an instant, grabbing her other arm. Dylan suspected the wolf shifter had been observing her, but Robin had been insistent that she was fine as she did on the ship earlier.
Dylan turned back to Isaac, who was watching the whole exchange.
“My people need rest,” he said evenly. “They were acting as slaves, then defenders, and haven’t gotten any sleep since.”
Isaac nodded his head, but it was Isabella who stepped forward and took Robin out of Dylan’s hand. Their skins brushed and a spark was there, but she gave no indication that she noticed.
“I’ll take them to their rooms for today,” Isabella said firmly. “I’ll call Lana to feed the children. Come on, Simon.”
Simon glanced at him, and Dylan gave a subtle nod. Then the wolf shifter was off following the two women.
“I’ll also need a prison cell to hold someone,” Dylan continued while the others were still within earshot.
“Of course. Whoever for?”
“Someone,” he said, not mentioning his brother or the surprise betrayal. The other would find out soon enough, and he didn’t feel the need to explain at the moment. Isaac didn’t pry, instead watching the people endlessly file out. He already had men everywhere in the area, both guiding the refugees and watching their every move.
When the two leaders were finally alone, Isaac’s attention turned completely towards him. Dylan waited while the other looked at him, almost in consideration.
Finally, Isaac spoke, blue eyes piercing.
“I’ll be setting a meeting later on with my sister and some trusted advisors. I would appreciate it if you would come.”
This. This was the opportunity Dylan was waiting for. Isabella mentioned on the ship that her brother never let any outsiders inside any meeting—at all—and he had to hide his surprise at this sudden turn of events.
“I’ll come.”
*****
Dylan and the rest were given enough time to rest and take care of personal needs, but they might as well have been prisoners for all the freedom they were given to roam around. His bedroom wasn’t locked, but he could sense the presence of guards just outside and knew that the moment he stepped out, he would be advised to rest inside—or his movements would be reported to Isaac right away.
Dylan didn’t take offense, as he doubted he would have taken his own eyes off Isaac had he been the one visiting New York headquarters. It spoke of the mutual distrust both had of each other, though there was no open aggression.
So he rested, taking a power nap but not really sleeping as fitfully as he would have liked. It didn’t dwell well that he trusted Isaac as much as he trusted Henley—and that wasn’t saying much. He wondered how Lance was doing, considering he’d left the guy in a not-so-good state. Lance would just have to deal, then, because he was in for a harder time once they got to New York.
Dylan was going to make sure of it.
A few hours later, a knock came at his door. Already dressed and prepared, Dylan opened the door and was surprised to find a woman servant there instead of the guard. The woman indicated for him to follow, so he did. They went deeper inside the cave and passed a couple of hallways that were empty at the moment.
“How huge is this place?”
The woman glanced at him before returning her stare straight ahead.
“Very huge,” she said, her tone not quite friendly, but not rude either. The vague answer had Dylan inwardly sighing, but he chose not to comment and instead decided that this place was probably as wide as New York headquarters was tall, considering this cave had no second floor. Not bad for a solo clan, though area access and resources must have been limited.
They finally got to a doorway that the servant opened. He could already see Isaac inside, along with Clay, the guard who’d apprehended Dylan in the beginning.
A few minutes later, Isabella came in, dressed freshly but with dark circles still under her eyes. She spared a glance at Dylan but stood beside Isaac.
Just as they were about to sit down, the door burst open and in came Jason. The youngest of the siblings only had eyes for Isaac. Isaac nodded, and Jason sat beside Dylan.
And the meeting began.
It was mostly a discussion of how they were going to house the refugees, which Isabella solved by mentioning the collection of antiques they’d taken with them on the ship. Then the details of their infiltration were discussed, with nothing spared except for the kiss between Isabella and Dylan, and the discovery of the note from Isaac to Henley. All evidence had been burned save for that piece of paper and some notable documents, which Isabella had stored in secret somewhere.
More things were discussed carefully, things that Isaac probably determined Dylan would be okay in knowing. Dylan mentioned the possibility of an alliance, and Isaac was more open to the idea now, though he warned that he still wanted limited contact and not the same terms as the other clans—namely, that he would still be leader in this territory equal to Dylan’s role. Dylan had already expected this and said he’ll draw up the terms.
Then he went in for the kill.
“One other thing.”
“Hmm?”
“I have plans of courting your sister.”
The silence that followed was deafening.
A flicker of shock crossed Isabella’s face, but no one noticed, because they were too busy staring at Dylan and processing his words. Even Clay was staring at him. The shock on Isabella’s face disappeared quickly, replaced with a look that said she was expecting hi
m to say this.
But Dylan didn’t miss the daggers she glared at him for a split second. He ignored them.
After a while, Jason turned to Isabella in disbelief. “Are you kidding me? A wolf?”
“Jason,” Isaac said easily, but there was no mistaking the warning in it. He turned those piercing eyes on Isabella, quiet and probing. “Isabella?”
Isabella clamped her mouth shut and nodded her head. “I know of his intentions.”
“And your response?”
There was a pause, and her blue eyes met Dylan’s. They were pleasant now.
On the surface.
“I’m not opposed to it.”
Silence filled the room again, with Jason muttering under his breath. But he showed no open dislike for Dylan, and Dylan suspected it had more to do with inter-mating bothering him than a personal offense in the matter.
But it was very personal for Isaac, whose status as leader would be shaken if this came to fruit. Dylan turned his gaze to meet his now.
Finally, Isaac nodded. “Very well. You may as well stay for the next few days and attend the party I’ll be holding for my people.”
Bingo.
Dylan smiled. “That would be wonderful.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Simon stood in the corner of the party, people watching. Apparently, parties like this were rare in the panther clan, and when it did happen, everyone went all out—a fact that was obvious with how well-dressed everyone was and how the food piled up high like mountains on the long tables.
He didn’t like dressing up, but coming from a wealthy family in New York, he was used to affairs like these. He might have even expected it, hence he had an outfit prepared just for the occasion. The pressed black slacks and the silk maroon dress shirt weren’t much, but adding shiny shoes and a casual blazer made him look presentable and allowed him to blend in with people that were practically strangers.
They had a different culture at home, and this party showcased it well. Instead of having the party inside the cave or a closed function area like most would have done, the panther clan held it at the back entrance of the cave spilling into an open field, with bonfires planted all over and giving the whole area an illuminating effect. He could spot guards scattered around the perimeter, just as dressed up as the rest, and knew that despite the openness, no one would dare attack here.
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