Chapter Twelve

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He’d stood in the Union train station in the dark and watched Omega’s plan play out beautifully. The man was still a mastermind and always two steps ahead of any adversary. He would’ve intervened for the Beastmasters but he had to know how much muscle Omega had working for him. He’d soon make his move on the man that had betrayed his order.

He’d known where the Beastmasters headquarters were long before Omega did but knew the man wouldn’t hit them there… because that’s not what he’d do. He came back to wait for the Beastmasters to rendezvous here after holing up in their safe houses for twenty-four hours. Cutting the security wires on the roof and coming in through the massive ventilation ducts left him completely undetected. Now he stared down at them from the third floor of their supposedly impenetrable headquarters. But his feud wasn’t with them. He’d fix this for them, if they could get past his identity.

“Alpha,” Call finally broke the silence. “You’re supposed to be dead.”

“Supposed and are, are two very different words, Commander.” Alpha raised his hands, showing them he was unarmed.

“That means nothing.” Shot kept his Beretta trained on Alpha's forehead. The man knew how to aim his weapon and hit his target every time. He’d seen the entire SEAL team in action more than once. Alpha would be foolish to underestimate these men.

“I’m not your enemy,” Alpha informed them. “I’m here to help you.”

“You don’t help others. You two work alone,” Call said with conviction.

“Worked. Past tense.” He walked up to them slowly and turned in a full circle. His hood still low on his face, they couldn’t see his eyes. Could only see his mouth moving. No one knew him, no one could get close enough to remove his hood. He was a ghost. No legal name. No identity. No allies. No alliances. A myth. An invader of nightmares. A true assassin. He was the Alpha and the Beastmasters knew it. If they were half past scared, they should’ve been a quarter to terrified.

“It was Omega.” Call stepped in front of his men but still kept his distance from him.

“Yes.”

“You know where he’s holding Backhander,” Hawk growled, slid the hammer back on his Glock, and flew toward him. Aimed to press that barrel to his forehead. Alpha sidestepped Hawk’s quick advance and in two rapid moves rid him of his weapon. In Hawk’s stunned awareness that he was now disarmed in front of the world’s deadliest man, Alpha flew back and connected his boot with Hawk’s chest, propelling him backward several feet before snapping back upright without missing a breath.

The others quickly moved into their attack formation.

“I’m not here to fight you,” he said, his rough voice calm. “I will return what belongs to you, but Omega is mine to deal with. After I return Backhander to you safe and unharmed, he will be dealt with according to the order. I advise you to stay out of this.”

“Fuck you! You can’t be trusted and neither can Omega. You’re his partner!” Hawk yelled.

“Was,” he said stiffly.

“Why should we trust you, Alpha?” Call stepped in front of Hawk, who was still fuming.

“Because I too, am enjoying calmer days. There comes a time when you have to stop fighting and killing.” Alpha approached Call slowly, staring the intense man directly in his marred face. Impressed by Call's bravado and his strong company. “Am I right, Commander?”

Call instructed his team to lower their weapons, all of them still eyeing Alpha with curiosity. No one had ever been this close to him, and lived.

“You were hunted by the government for years. No one has ever caught or even spoken to you. You’re taking an awfully big risk, coming into a secured room full of SEALS and DEA agents. Why come out into the open now?”

“I’ve stayed away for the same reason you keep that knife sheathed at your side, Commander… it’s too dangerous to be left out.”

Call lifted his arm, looking at the supposedly concealed 10-inch Magnum blade and gazed back at the dark man with barely contained rage simmering in those brown eyes.

Hawk began to pace again, his eyes clenched in concentration. Alpha was sure he was trying to receive a vision. Eventually he would. So he needed to move fast.

“Whether Omega turns Backhander over or not I will find him and I’ll kill him. He’s a terrorist in my country,” Hawk spat the words as he spoke them. He looked disgusted to even be in the same room with Alpha. But Alpha had never been an enemy of this country.

Alpha took a couple of measured steps toward Hawk and he could see the colors swimming in those all-seeing eyes. He could see Hawk watching his mouth tighten on the portion of face that he could see and Alpha spoke low, his voice as deadly as his skills. “He has honor to me. I will return your precious boy to you, Hawk. You’ll have to trust me for no other reason but because I told you to.”

Hawk snarled, “Not good enough.”

“Is this good enough?” Alpha stepped back and removed his dark hood from over his head, revealing a gorgeous man for all of them to see. Thick black hair fell back with his hood, stopping at his neck. Dark eyes thickly outlined with black kohl liner watched their stunned faces. The naturally tanned skin looked like a face you wanted to stroke when you kissed his full lips. Viper wasted no time snapping a couple of pictures. Alpha didn’t blink. That was him giving them something over him. Giving them his own trust. His face could be entered in the national database for every law enforcement and governmental agency in the world if he didn’t follow through on his guarantee. “But understand. I do this and you stand down and let me go after Omega alone. Hawk, I will bring him to you in forty-eight hours.”

“No. It’s already been twenty-eight. He’ll have traded Pierce by then,” Hawk said to Call, his eyes pleading with his Commander.

Call put his hand up and stared at the hooded man. “You need two days? I doubt that.”

“I am moved by your appreciation of my skills, Call. But, I need to get to Omega first. There’ll be men that I’ll have to eliminate before I can reach him. Once I have him, I’ll bring him to your home, Hawk. Be there.”

“No. Bring him here,” Hawk demanded.

“I’m not coming back here. The rest of your team will be back by then. If you want him, be at your house to receive him.”

“And he’s just going to let you take Pierce from him?” Hawk looked at him disbelievingly. He didn’t bother asking the stealthy man how he knew where Hawk’s private residence was. It wasn’t important right now.

“I don’t need to explain anything more to you.” Alpha’s gravelly voice elevated. “I’m your only real chance to get him back. Even if you are able to get your emotions under control long enough to receive a vision, you’ll never be able to get close to Omega. He’s too fast.”

“But you can get to him.”

“Yes, because I’m faster.” Alpha turned to leave, slinging his hood back up over his head.