“If they are locking it down, it means that it’s the enemy. I thought we were done with this,” Saskia says, agitated.
“It could be anyone. They are just being cautious,” Aria says, but there is a frown of concern on her face.
“Shall we go see in the computer room?” I ask, and immediately Saskia, Scarlett, Talia, and Brielle are agreeing and walking towards the door.
“Let us know,” Jasmine calls as she stops reading the book in her hands to Orion. I notice that all the women with the children have stayed behind and everyone else is making their way towards the computer room. When we enter, I see that Celmund, instead of being at his computer as usual, has his earpiece on and is looking at the cameras.
“What’s going on?” Alaia asks as she stands next to Celmund and looks at the cameras.
“There are cops outside,” Celmund responds without taking his eyes off the screen.
“What do they want?” I ask as I see Draco on one of the cameras standing inside the gates, his hands low on his waist as he talks to the cops standing on the other side of the closed gates. I see that there are at least six police cars and four black SUVs that look like they could be from the FBI.
“They are accusing us of breaching an international agency’s premises, and they want to inspect our property,” Celmund mutters.
“How do they know it was us who went into the underground?” Saskia asks, a worried look on her face.
“They can’t have any evidence. I made sure to delete everything and cover our tracks,” Celmund states, but there is a worried look in his eyes. “They are showing Draco the warrant. They will come in, but they won’t find anything.” And then I see Celmund tense.
“What?” Talia asks, speaking to him for the first time.
“Don’t go there. You are asking to die,” Celmund states, and I can see that he’s talking to himself, then he presses his com on. “Draco, ignore him. You know they are baiting you.” He then switches off his com. “Shit.”
“Celmund!” Talia says again, but this time, she places a hand on his arm, which has him looking down at her, and then he places his hand over hers.
“That stupid asshole of a cop is baiting Draco about Katrina. If he only knew how close he is to dying, he would shut his mouth,” he says angrily.
“What’s he saying?” I ask.
“At the moment, he’s saying that he saw you in town awhile back and how well you ride—okay, he’s going down,” Celmund grunts as he leans forward and places his hand flat on the wall next to one of the screens. “He just said what a sexy, uhm, bum you have. As you can see, he’s choking.” I can see on the screen the man clawing at his neck as if out of breath. Draco is just standing there, not moving, but I know he’s the one suffocating the cop.
“At least he’s doing it like that instead of using his hands, even though I’m sure he would rather have his fingers around his neck. I know I would,” Celmund growls angrily. “Stupid asshole thinks he’s having a heart attack.” I see various men surrounding the man on the floor, and then I notice Draco saying something.
“Okay, will do,” Celmund says. “Looks like I’m opening the gate.” Celmund presses a button on his laptop, and the main gate before Draco slides open.
“Are you sure they won’t find anything?” Scarlett asks.
“Not unless they know what they are looking for,” Celmund replies as he continues monitoring the cameras. My heart is racing as I think of the agents finding their way into the back of the compound and discovering Katya and the man the men brought in. They will want to question all of us, and I know that the men will not let any other man near the children or us. If they do find the way in, we are in deep trouble.
DRACO 14
“Who is it?” I ask as I walk out of the compound.
“The cops, and there are agents too,” Bion says as we start making our way down towards the main gate. Reaching the gate, I see six police cars, and behind them are SUVs that probably belong to the agents. Bjarni is standing on one side of the gate and Burkhart on the other. I can sense the others spread out by the trees.
“What can we do for you?” I ask the policeman standing before the gate. There is another officer a couple feet back, and an FBI agent standing by the car, listening.
“There has been a complaint that you breached an international federal agency’s property,” the man says.
“Really, have you got proof?” I ask, and he hesitates before he replies.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” he says. “Now let us in. We have a warrant to inspect your property. We also want to talk to all your men and your women.” I tense. There is no way in hell they are interrogating Katrina or any of the other women.
“Let me see the warrant,” I say, prolonging the asshole’s wait. They will not be interrogating anyone if they don’t have proof.
“Sure.” He turns slightly and holds out his hand to the other policeman standing slightly behind him. “Isn’t your woman the one who rides that bike?” At his words, I can feel my anger rising. “I’m sure I saw the two of you together once.”
“Draco, ignore him. You know they are baiting you,” Celmund says, knowing that this fucker talking about my woman will make my anger rise.
“Well, that girl has one sexy ass on her,” he says as he turns with the warrant, a cynical smile on his face that soon disappears as I pull the air away from around him. He drops the warrant and starts to claw at his throat. Fucker. That will keep him quiet. He thinks he can talk about my woman’s body. Well, that will be the last thing he will say. Bjarni squats down and picks up the warrant that is still on the outside of the gate. He straightens, turns, and hands it to me.
Opening the piece of paper, I see the warrant is signed. Looking towards the two policemen trying to resuscitate the fucker, I shake my head, as I know they won’t be able to save him. I click on my com. “Celmund, open the gate,” I order, and hear his confirmation. Stepping back, I wait for the gate to open completely before I turn and make my way back towards the compound. I know they will be busy for a while with that asshole, giving me time to get to the compound before they decide to come up.
“Celmund, make sure everything is secure. Wulf, Brandr, and Ceric come up to the compound. The rest of you make sure no fucker gets lost on our property.” When I walk into the bar, I see Kade and Jason behind the bar. As humans, they have surprised me by how diligent and hardworking they are. They might suspect something, but they don’t know enough to be able to give anyone any information if they are interrogated.
“Draco, would you like something?” Jason asks when he sees me.
“The cops are here. They might want to talk to you,” I say, and see their shocked faces. “Don’t worry, they have nothing. They are just trying to see if they can pin something on us.” Luckily both think we went on a run to our Joburg chapter. They also saw our Joburg men when they accompanied the women back with Ceric, so their stories will match, and they won’t need to lie.
“You want us to not say something?” Jason asks with a worried face.
“I don’t want you to talk about our women or children. If there is anything you think might incriminate us in any way, don’t say it. Otherwise, don’t worry,” I say as I sense the men walking in.
“They are on their way up,” Ceric says as he goes to sit at one of the tables. “Kade, my usual.” When the agents walk in, Ceric and Brandr are at a table drinking and talking among themselves. Kade and Jason are stocking the fridge. Wulf has gone into the garage to help Gunner, who is busy tuning one of our bikes, and to make sure no one messes with our stuff.
I sit on a bar stool with my back to the bar counter and observe as the police start to walk around. I see that there are five with canines. Good luck to them when they encounter the wolves. “Why don’t you make this easier on yourself and us and just tell us where they are,” one of the federal agents says as he walks up to me.
“Where who is?” I ask, knowing they are talki
ng about Katya and Ben.
“Don’t play games, Draco. We know you have them. Where are they?” he asks again, but I notice he keeps his voice down. Interesting. That means they haven’t played nice with the police and haven’t told them what they are really doing here.
“I don’t know what you are talking about,” I state. He takes another step closer to me, lowering his voice another syllable. I can see his pulse beating rapidly by his neck, which tells me that he’s scared.
“I know you are responsible for what happened to that policeman outside.” When I raise my eyebrows, he lifts his hands in the air. “We just want them back, and we will be gone and you can carry on with your day.”
“I don’t know what you are talking about,” I say again, and can see the anger and frustration on his face.
“We will tear this place apart if we have to, question everyone here,” he threatens. “I’m sure you don’t want that.”
“We have nothing to hide,” I state. “Go ahead, look.” My nonchalance frustrates him, but he turns and inclines his head to the other agents standing by the door. One of them walks towards Ceric and Brandr and sits down, which makes both men tense and glare at him. Another one calls three policemen and makes his way through the bar area and goes into the garage.
“Where is everyone else?” the same agent asks as he looks around.
“I’m not their keeper,” I state as I cross my arms. An hour later, they are getting frustrated, as they haven’t found anything and have looked everywhere. The steel shutters and false wall that slides in front of the doors to the back of the compound is so expertly made that unless they know what they are looking for, they will never find it.
“So, have you found anything?” Ceric asks sarcastically. We all know they haven’t, as we can hear every word they utter.
“Where are your women?” one of the agents asks.
“Where are yours?” Brandr asks with a raised brow.
“It’s just that we know they live here with you. Meanwhile the rooms in the back are empty,” the agent says. “Isn’t that strange?”
“They went on vacation,” Brandr states, shrugging.
“We know for a fact that you would never let your women out unprotected, and especially all of them,” the agent says. “Why don’t you all just come clean.”
“Well, as you can see, they are not here,” Brandr says, and turns his back to the agent. This sign of indifference has the agent tensing, and then he steps forward and pulls Brandr back, trying to get him off his chair, but Brandr is way too well trained to be surprised like that. He is off his chair and standing before the agent before he can blink.
“Stand down,” I order, as I know that that is what the agent is after to try to arrest one of us. I can sense the anger radiating off Brandr, but I know that he won’t disobey me in this situation. “Take a walk.” Brandr glares at the agent, but he turns and makes his way out of the compound.
“We are going to have to ask to speak to everyone at the compound,” the agent who spoke to me earlier says as he walks back into the bar and approaches me.
“Go ahead, no one is stopping you,” I state with a shrug. He nods and heads towards Ceric. This seems like it’s going to take a long time. Fuck, I really wanted to get started on Katya, but we’re going to have to play along with these assholes for now. My phone starts to vibrate, warning me of an incoming call. Pulling it out of my jeans pocket, I see that it’s Tor.
“Hey,” I answer.
“The fucking feds are here with the cops,” he says. I can hear the anger in his tone, but knowing Tor, he will look as cool and collected as I do now.
“It’s okay, you have nothing to hide,” I state. “Let them have their fun. They are here now too.”
He grunts in annoyance. “Fucking assholes,” he mutters before he cuts the call. I’m about to place the phone back in my pocket, when it starts to vibrate again. This time, I see that it’s Striker, my Joburg chapter president. I guess the feds are really trying to hide what they have accomplished so far. Either that or Ben is more important than we might think. I don’t think it’s Katya, so it has to be Ben. I think I will pay more attention to our new visitor when they leave.
“Striker,” I answer.
“Draco, we have the fucking cops at the door,” he mutters. Unlike Tor who is a hothead but strategizes before attacking, Striker attacks first and thinks about it later, but he is a great leader and resourceful.
“Relax, they are visiting all our chapters. They are here, and Tor just informed me that they are there too.” He swears at my statement. “Keep your head, Striker. I don’t want them detaining anyone.”
“Fucking assholes are going through everything,” he states, and I know that even though he has the women we helped out of the underground, like us, his compound is protected, and it will take a lot for anyone to find the way in.
“They won’t find anything, as we have nothing to hide,” I state, knowing that he will understand.
“Right,” he answers before he disconnects the call.
“Celmund,” I call on my com, “warn the others.” I know that he would have seen the calls coming through to me and will know what I mean.
“On it,” he states. “Draco, there’s a fucker trying to rile Burkhart up. You know that won’t take much.” Fuck, Burkhart is not known for his patience, and if one of these assholes irritates him enough, he will lash out. I head towards the outside door to look for Burkhart, knowing he won’t be far, as I can sense his energy close.
“Draco,” the agent calls. Stopping, I look back at him.
“Don’t leave the compound,” he warns, which pisses me off. Asshole. I walk out of the bar and head towards where I know Burkhart is. I can see him leaning against a tree as I approach. His arms are crossed before him, but I can tell he is barely holding it together. If it was a year earlier, he would already have knocked this fucker out, but since meeting his mate, he has calmed down immensely.
He looks over at me as I approach, and I can see the relief in his eyes. He stands up straight and turns towards me, ignoring the agent. “Draco, when are these fuckers leaving? Seriously, they’re worse than women.”
When I reach them, I place my hand on his shoulder. “Are you done here, Agent? I need Burkhart inside.”
He tenses but nods. Two policemen are making their way from the woods towards us as we start making our way back into the compound.
“You have beautiful land here. That lake must be a pleasure to fish,” one of them says to us.
“We’re not much into fishing, but yes, I believe it’s filled with a variety of fish,” I state.
The policeman is about to continue talking, when the agent interrupts him. “Did you find anything?”
“Nope, my men have gone through the whole property. We couldn’t find anything,” he states, and I can see a pleased look on his face. Looks like he doesn’t like the agent too much either. I look at Burkhart and incline my head towards the compound. I want to get back inside and make sure that they don’t find the doors to the back.
It is another two hours before they give up, but this desperate search for Katya and Ben have just proved to me that whatever Katya or Ben know, they don’t want us to find out.
KATRINA 15
Yesterday was a long day. The police only left the compound late at night, so the men decided to leave the questioning of Katya and Ben for today. They have agreed to let us watch, and if there is anything we might think to ask, we can tell Celmund and he will let Draco know. We will be watching from the computer room. Aria and Scarlett will be present at the questioning, as they will get more information from them and quicker than the traditional methods.
The men were all agitated yesterday after the police left, but I think most of the couples have now made peace, going by the hugs and kisses going around this morning at breakfast. “Why so pensive?” I look up to see Brielle looking down at me.
“Just thinking that most couples look l
ike they have made up,” I say, and Talia snickers.
“I would say,” she quips. “Yesterday when Celmund and I went to bed, all we could hear was groaning and moaning.”
“Well, people need to make up, you know,” Gabriela teases with a grin.
“I understand, but there was a room we walked past that I was actually wondering if I should knock and find out if everything was okay. It sounded like there might have been a cat that went inside by mistake and was fighting to get out.” At Talia’s teasing, we all laugh. “Celmund even thought it was the alarm for a second there. You know, with their keen hearing and all.”
“I wouldn’t talk. I’ve heard some disturbing noises coming from your room,” Scarlett quips, as her and Cassius’s room is right next door to Celmund and Talia’s. Talia looks over at Scarlett and dramatically places her finger on her lips, playfully telling her to shh.
“Now the truth comes out. Everyone will now know where the animal sounds are coming from. It’s like a zoo in there,” Scarlett teases, which has everyone laughing until Celmund pops his head around the door to the kitchen to let everyone know that the questioning is about to begin. A stillness quickly descends as the women start making their way into the computer room. Celmund has placed the live feed from where the questioning is being done in one of the cells on the big screen.
“Take a seat, ladies. This might take some time,” he states as he holds out his hand to Talia, and I see that he has placed a chair next to his for her. We can hear the men speaking as they walk into the cell. Katya and the man who was brought in with her are both there. Katya is looking angry, but the man has a whole look of awe about him when he sees the men walking in.
“You know this is foolish, don’t you?” Katya says when Draco walks in and faces them. “You will never get away with this. They will know that you have us.” I see that Aria and Scarlett are sitting outside the cell. The only men inside are Wulf and Draco. All the others are standing outside with the two women.
DRACO'S WRATH: Elemental's MC (book 11) Page 10
