Hours later, with Ethan, himself, and the mountain of unanswered questions hanging in the air between them, the normally comfortable living area of Ryan’s RV felt claustrophobic. He still hadn’t decided if he should welcome his brother’s return with open arms or tear out his entrails. “Before we get into the rest; how did you know where to find us?”
“When Garath alerted the Council, we were already tracking a cell near New Orleans, so being the closest, my team was redeployed here.”
“I guess I should thank you, not just for saving our asses but for taking care of everything else too. You have this clean-up-the-evidence thing down to a science. Not to mention the field hospital bit.” A chill ran over Ryan. Thank gods, Zander was going to be okay, at least physically. “Any sign of the Baneblade?”
“No, but now that we know it exists, we’ll be prepared for it next time.”
“What’s going to happen to the survivor?” Hailey’s jailer had met the same fate as Alvin, and the one Garath had taken down hadn’t been given the chance to implode.
Ethan answered with a clenched jaw. “He’ll wish to hell he hadn’t in a few hours if he doesn’t start dishing on his buddies. And before you ask, don’t worry, second team did a full sweep around the hotel. Between them and Garath, no one’s getting within miles of those women tonight.”
Once the furor at the clearing died down and the immediate tasks had been attended to, Sara and Hailey had been clinging to each other, both with silent tears streaming down their faces. Not sticking to her like a burr tonight was one of the hardest things Ryan had ever done, but Sara needed to be with her sister tonight, not him.
Ethan’s hand appeared in front of Ryan’s face with a longneck in it. “You look like you could use one.”
Guess it was time to eat the elephant in the room. Ryan accepted the beverage, opened it with more force than necessary, and took a strong pull. Game on. “So, you’ve been working for the Council all this time?”
The trailer’s kitchen counter protested as Ethan slid his ass onto it and rubbed the back of his neck. “Not the whole time, but for the most part, yes.”
At least he had the decency to look ashamed. “How the hell did that happen, and do our parents know?” Ryan threw the bottle cap he’d just twisted off at his brother’s head. Watching it bounce off his forehead was almost worth the jolt his freshly bandaged shoulder took.
“Hey! Ease up or give me a chance to put my armor back on.”
A beat of dead air filled the room before Ryan responded. “Mind clarifying just what kind of armor that is?”
Ethan slid off the counter then came over and plopped his big frame down next to Ryan on the couch, looking even more sheepish. Good.
“Yes, it’s Enforcer issue. No, they don’t know, but soon will; a Tribunal’s been called. And how did my recruitment happen?”
“I was wondering more about your resurrection, but I suppose you can start there.” Ryan shifted to get more comfortable without success. Damn, his shoulder hurt.
Ethan fired the big-brother glare at him.
“Okay, shutting up.”
Back to rubbing the back of his neck, Ethan sighed. “Toward the end of the war, the Overseers were getting desperate to replace the Alpha-line captives who’d succumbed under the constant draining needed to create Imploders, so they had been watching several of us. They learned our patterns and took advantage of that knowledge by laying traps and setting things up so no one would come looking when we disappeared. In my case, it was made to look like I’d been killed in a car bombing; conveniently burned beyond recognition.”
Ryan stared at the floor as though it were a screen reflecting bits and pieces of memory from ten years ago. “I remember some speculation about the identity of the body they’d found inside, but when you weren’t among the prisoners after it was all over, the doubt and hope that went with it died.”
“That’s because the Overseers had caught wind of the impending attack on their stronghold so were preparing for it, which included moving those of us strong enough to survive it to a new location. That transfer happened the same night Arlene died.” He dropped his hands to clasp them between his knees and glanced sideways at Ryan. “Which is something else that didn’t happen the way everyone thought. She didn’t jump, Ryan. Arlene was thrown off that cliff.”
Ryan’s brain short-circuited. What? “Thrown?” He sat straighter, putting his beer down. “What are you talking about? What’s all this got to do with Arlene?”
Ethan turned his head away and seemed to focus inward. “We were to be handed off close to where Arlene was that night. Unfortunately, the bastards waiting for us found her alone on that escarpment first.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “We heard a struggle, but by the time we got there, it was too late. I saw the terror on her face as she went over the edge. Not that there was much I could’ve done; we were shackled and frail from weeks of captivity, but I tried anyway and got a rifle butt in the back of my head for my trouble. I still see her in my dreams. I don’t remember much about what happened after that.” Ethan flexed his neck and rolled his shoulders. “Next thing I remember with any clarity was weeks later when I was found barely alive in some shit hole dugout, with no Overseers in sight and Enforcers everywhere. They took me back to base under quarantine, and ten weeks after that, they recruited me straight out of med bay. You see, after the stronghold fell, most believed the Overseer threat was gone for good, but they were wrong. That one small faction managed to crawl under a rock and fall off the radar. So, the Council sanctioned a special team of Enforcers to track down every possible lead which is why it’s taken the fuckers years instead of months to re-establish a working cabal and activate the first new cell.”
Arlene murdered by Overseers? Ryan sat dumbfounded on multiple levels. Enforcers? His brother was part of the Wulver Council’s answer to off-books black ops? Tagged Ghosts by many, they existed separate from rest of Wulver society, beyond the Alpha imprint inherent in all of them, though how they pulled that off was a mystery and not the only one. Ryan looked closely at his brother. “So, since you’re older than me, and I don’t see a mating mark on your neck, I take it there really is a way to avoid being taken by the moon besides bonding?”
Ethan visibly paled. “Yes, but you don’t want to go there, trust me.” He sat straighter and deliberately changed the subject. “Do the sisters know who they are and how they fit into all this?”
Ryan nodded but stayed silent. His brain was cramping. The attack, kidnappings, shootings, his dead brother charging in leading a team of badass G.I. Joes; if he was having a hard time sorting it all out, how the hell were Sara and Hailey faring?
He could still see their thunderstruck expressions when Garath lifted an unconscious, naked, and very human figure up from where a wolf had gone down and tossed the still bleeding Zander over a shoulder.
Ethan and Ryan weren’t sharing a link right now, but his brother still guessed his thoughts. “I talked to Zander, and he’s decided to join the Enforcers as soon as he’s fit for duty. He’s determined to take out as many cells as he can after what they did to Sofia. Claims it’ll give him a purpose beyond weening you.”
“And Garath?”
Ethan squinted his eyes at Ryan. “Says that depends on you.”
Ryan shoved his hands through his hair and leaned back in a slouch. Yeah, and here comes the other shoe, big brother. “I suppose it does. I called Niola after your medic finished patching me up earlier. Thank you for that by the way.”
“Don’t change the subject.”
“Right.” Ryan rubbed his chin. “After a long discussion involving her extremely low assessment of my intelligence and a detailed list of my physical shortcomings, I broke the bonding contract with her.”
Ethan just stared at him.
“I can’t go through with it, Ethan, and not just because she hates my guts. I can’t chain either of us to a loveless existence like that. Not when I know what the real thing could be like…not when I know what loving someone is like.”
Ethan exhaled with a hiss. “Damn, pup.”
Ryan snorted. “Yeah, I know.” Then shrugged. “So, it all hinges on Sara. We talked before they left for the hotel. She already had parts of the puzzle, and I was worried she’d formulated a ton of misconceptions off them, so I wanted to give her at least the crib-notes version of the whole picture. Including telling her about contract bonds, and how I just broke mine.” Ryan pinched the bridge of his nose. “You know, even after all that, she still agreed to sleep on it and talk again tomorrow. Assuming she doesn’t come to her senses before then.” He retrieved his drink and took a swig. “I couldn’t push her tonight, Ethan. She’s been through so much, because of me.” Ryan absently picked at his beer’s label. “But being the selfish bastard I am, the next time I see her, I’m going to tell her exactly how I feel and do everything I can to keep her, if she’ll have me.”
“And if she won’t?”
Ryan looked his brother in the eye and his tone left no room for argument. “Then Garath will likely become Sheridan’s next leader and bond with Niola himself, but even if he doesn’t do either of those things, he will put me down before the moon takes me.”