Chapter Eighteen

 

Tank

 

I arrive at the roadside motel around midnight. The pack’s already here, as well as the little VW bus, hidden behind the place.

Sam lets me down before fleeing in the helicopter to lie low. Good call. I’ll bet neither Jackson or my alpha will be happy with the little bomb stunt he pulled.

The first one to greet me is Garrett. The alpha pulls me into a hug, and we pound each other’s backs.

“I oughta beat you,” Garrett growls. “I don’t care what plan the hackers cook up, next time you wait for your pack.”

“I had to go in. Foxfire was going to do it.”

Garrett grunts.

“Where is she?”

“Holed up in a room with Amber and her mom. Girl’s night, or something. With all the adrenaline they had going on an hour ago, I bet they’ve crashed now.”

“I was hoping to talk to her.” If she’ll see me.

“In the morning. We’ve got news.” Garrett leads me to another motel room.

“Hey man.” Jared and Trey greet me with hugs of their own. Human males might not touch each other this much, but shifters do. “Where’s Sam?”

“Going to stash the helicopter somewhere. Apparently it’s not quite legal.”

“Neither is setting off fireworks in Utah outside of July,” Trey says. “I don’t even know where you’d buy them.”

I keep silent. I wouldn’t underestimate Foxfire when it comes to digging up contraband. Or her mother. I picture the two of them flirting with some hapless shop owner, convincing him to sell them, and I want to bash the imaginary guy’s teeth in.

“The cops are all over the compound now. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s put under investigation.”

“Are we in trouble?” There are enough shifters in the government to help with coverup.

“I think Sam blew up all the evidence. Kylie got most of the data out before then. She and Jackson are going through it now. We’ll know more in the morning.” Garrett sits on the bed. Trey and Jared toss me a bag of fast food, but I’m too wired to eat, so I grab a drink and down that instead.

“Kylie wants you to know she took down the bounty on Foxfire. She hacked the user account. There were a few older bounties in there, for people all across the US and Canada. We think they were all shifters.”

I debrief the room on what I saw in the compound, including a description of the lion shifter. “Someone’s snatching shifters and experimenting on them. But why?” I ask.

“We don’t know. But we’re going to find out,” Garrett says. “Jackson called us after I told you Amber’s vision. That’s when I rallied the pack, and asked if Kylie could hack their systems somehow.” Garrett explains. “We needed data. We think this operation is connected to the one in Mexico that took my sister.”

“What’d you find out in Mexico?” I ask.

“Nothing,” Jared cuts in. “We couldn’t question anyone because Garrett ate them all.”

“They held us captive. And my mate was left unprotected,” Garrett says. He doesn’t look at all repentant.

“Well, this time we did it right. Or half right, if we got the data out before the place blew,” Trey says.

I shake my head. “Sam is fucking crazy.”

Trey and Jared look curious, but I don’t elaborate. Sam may have disobeyed orders, but it worked out in the end. I’m not sorry that place is torched. Even if it almost cost me my life. It would’ve if we hadn’t had the fireworks as a distraction.

I rise from where I was leaning against the dresser and start toward the door. I want to see Foxfire. No, I need it.

“Tank,” my alpha calls.

Trey and Jared rise and, with a knowing look at each other, they leave the room.

“Who is Foxfire to you?”

“She’s my mate.”

“You sure?” He folds his arms across his chest. He’s probably protective because Foxfire is his mate’s friend, but I still tense.

“I marked her,” I half growl. “She’s mine.” My wolf has his hackles up.

Garrett studies me then nods. “Get some sleep. We’ll talk more in the morning.”

“Where’s Foxfire?” My wolf won’t rest until he knows she’s safe.

Garrett’s shoulders soften a little.

“I already told you. Girl’s night. They’re under guard.”

“I’ll take a shift.”

“No, you’ll get some sleep,” Garrett says with an alpha’s command. “By morning, we should know more about this shifter-snatching black market. I’ll need my beta at his best. So will Foxfire.”

Despite my alpha’s orders, I pace in front of Foxfire’s room for a few minutes. I can smell her through the door, beyond the two wolves Garrett posted as guards.

“She’s all right.” Trey lays a hand on my shoulder.

I’m so wired, I’m about to snap.

“She and Amber debriefed, but there have been no sounds for a while. I think they crashed.”

“I should let them sleep,” I say mostly to myself. One part of me knows this, but the other part won’t be happy until my mate is in my arms.

If she’ll let me hold her.

“It’ll be the best for her,” Trey agrees, and that decides it. I head to my room and crash.

 

~.~

 

Tank

 

“I’ve got good news and bad news,” Kylie says through the speaker on Garrett’s phone.

“All right, hit us.” Garrett leans forward on the bed, propping his elbows on his knees. Jared, Trey, and I stand around the phone, braced for Jackson and Kylie’s findings. I checked on Foxfire’s hotel room before coming here, but the women are all still asleep. I’m still itching to see Foxfire.

“The good news is, as of this morning, the entire compound is shut down. Human law enforcement is swarming over it because of the bombs and gunfire. They found evidence of prisoner torture, as well the crematorium where the lab destroyed the evidence. No one is getting back in there to do anything any time soon.”

“That’s good news,” Garrett says. “What about the files?”

“Before the feds showed up, the files were completely wiped, including the mole program. They won’t find anything to suggest shifters exist.”

We all relax. The last thing we need is a branch of the government investigating us.

“Kylie and I spent all night going over the files,” Jackson says. “From what we can tell, this was a several year operation, backed by some big money. A shadow corporation. We’re going to keep following the trail. But we think it may be tied to the black market shifter operations in Mexico. There was funding from international accounts.”

A growl rumbles in Garrett’s chest, echoed by Trey and Jared. “Keep us in the know,” my alpha says. “The sooner we find these guys, the sooner we can take them out.”

“Was there any evidence about the shifters who were kept prisoner?”

A pause. “Unfortunately, yes,” Jackson says. “These bastards kept copious notes of their so-called experiments. They were compiling a DNA database, with every type of shifter represented.”

“What about fox shifters?” I ask before anyone else can say anything.

“Just one. A Johnny Red. His chart was linked to Foxfire Hines, with a note to apprehend her.” Jackson clears his throat, and I realize my wolf is growling.

“I’m sorry.” Kylie comes on the line, her voice full of sympathy. “His file was labeled deceased.”

Damn. I need to break the news to Foxfire.

“From what I’ve read, they wanted Foxfire because she was the daughter of a shifter and a human. The whole operation is centered around breeding new shifters that aren’t defective, whatever that means.”

“It means they can still shift,” Garrett explains. “Shifter rates have been decreasing, because birth rates are down. Some packs ban human-shifter relationships because they believe bloodlines get watered down. More children are born without an animal.”

“So when they found out Johnny had a daughter, they wanted to bring her in,” I say. “But the only link they had was Sunny. So they went to her first.”

“Kylie already deleted the bounty on Foxfire, but she might still be in danger. Along with her mother,” Jackson adds.

“We’ll send someone from Dad’s pack to get Sunny’s trailer. We’re moving it to pack land, until we’re sure she’s safe,” Garrett assures me.

Noise from outside interrupts. The wolf guard outside the door is barring someone entry to our room.

“Well, I’m his mate.” Amber’s voice rises.

Garrett’s on his feet in a flash, heading to the door. “Let her in,” he orders.

A moment later, the human female storms in. “Where is he?” She pushes past my alpha and comes to stand in front of me. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

“Excuse me?”

“You hurt Foxfire!” she cries, getting right in my face. “She was on the rebound. She didn’t need you to play games with her heart while she’s dealing with her family crises.”

I surge to my feet. “What the fuck?” What’s wrong with Foxfire?

I knew I needed to see her last night.

“What’s going on, Amber?” Garrett growls, coming up to stand protectively beside her.

“He marked her without asking and then totally left!”

“She’s my mate,” I snap. “And I wasn’t leaving—” Fuck this. I needed to explain to Foxfire, not these boneheads. “Where is she?”

“She’s leaving,” Amber snaps.

“What?”

“Something you said to her. You marked her and then refused to claim her because shifters don’t mix. She thinks you don’t want her.”

I reel back as if struck.

Amber doesn’t seem to notice. “She says she’s moving.” Amber grips Garrett, appealing to him with wide blue eyes. “She’s all worked up about not inconveniencing the pack, whatever that means.”

“Where is she?” I’m halfway to the door.

“Gone. Headed back to Tucson. I tried to stop her, but—”

I rush out. Sure enough, the back parking lot is empty of the VW bus.

“Tank?” Trey’s at my side. I push him away.

“I’ve got to go.”

“Tank—” Garrett’s in the doorway, Amber by his side.

“I claim Foxfire Hines as my mate,” I thunder so everyone can hear. I’ll get a bullhorn if I have to. Or pay Sam to fly a banner around the world.

“What are you going to do?” Amber asks. She doesn’t look mad anymore. She looks relieved. Women. Crazy.

“Make sure she knows she’s mine.” I turn to Garrett. “Do I have your blessing?”

Garrett’s lips twitch. “Do you need it?”

“No,” I tell him. “Foxfire’s mine, whether I’m welcome in the pack after this or not.”

My alpha pulls his mate closer. “Foxfire is welcome in our pack. Go get your mate.”

“Here,” Trey tosses me his keys.

The rest of the pack breaks into whoops as I run to the bike.