Chapter Twenty-Eight
Rafael
"He did what?" Zade's bellow echoed past the third-floor nursing station and down the hall.
"I guess he knows now," Colby huffed as we increased our pace a little. "I thought you asked them not to tell him until we got there?"
"I did," I confirmed with a sigh. "Must have gotten our wires crossed somewhere."
When we got to the nursing station, Zade was leaning against the wall flanked by security guards. He started toward us only to be stopped when they each laid one hand on his chest and shoved him back.
"You knew about this?" he nearly spat the words at me. "What the fuck, Zade?"
Next to me, I heard Colby growl. Now that he was due any day, his patience was all but gone.
Turning to him, I brushed my lips over his and waved to the upholstered benches lining the room. "Why don't you sit down? I've got this." After Colby lowered himself to the bench, I glanced at the guards holding Zade. "You can let him go."
Zade rushed me as soon as the restraining hands were removed, a snarl on his face. "Why the fuck didn't you tell me he bailed and took Harley?"
"Stand down, Zade." Holding my position, I stared back at him. "Wrong time and place."
Zade clenched his hands into fists, eyes flashing and nostrils flaring. "Then maybe we should relocate."
"Are you serious?" I couldn't keep from rolling my eyes. "What the hell do you expect to accomplish by throwing down with me?" When Zade's only response was another snarl, I gave up and instead used my pack link to reach out to Bane and Snake who had been lounging patiently on the bench to his right.
Move on in.
Before he realized what was happening, the young Alpha was cuffed and being manhandled toward the elevator on his way to cool his heels -and his temper – in a holding cell.
"Sorry about that. Alpha Sultan can be a little high strung at times." I smiled at the terrified nurse cowering in her chair behind the waist-height counter. "Now, can you tell me where Mr. Wright said he and his friend were going?"
"He didn't," she said quickly. "But we don't ask, either." She held out a single paper with trembling fingers. "We just have them fill this form in."
Scanning the page, I saw that it was nothing more than an emergency contact update and release form. On it Scott had identified Harley as his fiancé and listed the number to Scott's own cell phone. It confirmed that they planned on staying together, but that was all.
"Thanks." I handed it back with one of my business cards. "If he contacts you, could you let me know?" When she nodded, I crossed the room and offered my hand to help Colby to his feet. "C'mon, baby. Time to hit the office."
~*~
"I think he's ready, boss."
I was pouring over a stack of paper in front of me when Bane's voice snapped me back to the present.
"Nifty." Leaving the papers where they were, I grabbed my access badge from the top drawer of my desk and shoved it into my pocket before heading for the holding cells on the opposite side of the building. Sure enough, Zade was sitting on the edge of the bunk in his cell looking contrite and more than a little embarrassed.
"Feeling better, are you?"
Zade's face turned a dark red. "Shit, Rafe. I'm so sorry that I lost my head."
I shrugged. It was hardly news that the kid could be impulsive. "Yeah, well, if you're done, we can try to move forward." I swiped my badge and stepped back as the cell door sprang open. "Come on."
Back in my office, I dropped into my chair and motioned him to one across the desk. "Do you want me to request a kidnapping warrant? Or put out a missing and endangered BOLO?"
"No." Zade groaned and shook his head. "I'm still pissed that he took off with Harley, but I know he won't hurt him. Honestly, I think he's trying to protect Harley from us at this point. This is all kinds of fucked up."
"Talk about a monumental understatement," Clint's voice came from the open door. "Mind if I join you?"
When I nodded, he took the seat next to Zade. Usually a master of calm, his brow was furrowed, his jaw set, and tension was nearly radiating out of him. "What's up, Clint?"
"Got a call from Colt a bit ago." He swiped a bottle of water from the shelf next to my desk and polished off half in a single gulp. "He was checking out that Omega house that the dating site creeper tracked to."
Shit. That was fast. "And?"
"He's there, but there's more."
Clint handed me his phone, a batch of pictures already loaded on the screen. As I scrolled through image after image that made the Verlorene Hoffnung Rehoming Center look like a vacation resort, my stomach lurched. "What the fuck is this?"
"Colt said he's not sure, Rafe, but he thinks the place is the front for some sort of research facility." Clint swallowed hard. "He thinks they're experimenting on shifter prisoners."
"Holy fuck," Zade whistled under his breath. "That's crazy."
"We'll have to reach out to their local office." I began to rifle through my folder of contact lists. "Clint, is Colt going to be able to get out of there?"
"Should be fine," Clint said with a sigh. "They're operating the Omega house as a cover, so he went in as a John. They hadn't made him."
"Has he made contact with the Alpha we were looking for?"
"That's another weird thing," Clint said. "He's there, but according to Colt, he's a prisoner. There's no way that he could have grabbed Harley."
Jerking the contact list for the eastern coast free, I began to punch the numbers into my phone. "This just keeps getting more fucked up."