Page 227 of The Alpha's Second Chance Mate

“What do you know about this place?” I asked. “How many people are here? What have they been making you do? I want to know.”

He stopped and took a steadying breath before sitting on a chair. “It’s a big place. Lots of rooms and stuff. Kyle’s got an office downstairs where he spends a lot of time. He’s been having me spar and train against some of his guys in what used to be a big den or living room or something. Things would be a lot worse if Dallas wasn’t looking out for me.”

“What?” I nearly choked on the word. “Dallas? Ashton, he’s the one who kidnapped you. Why would he be helping?”

“He keeps Kyle’s guys from being dicks toward me. He and Sydney have been coaching me on how to get on Kyle’s good side so he doesn’t hurt me. Stuff like that.”

“I don’t understand,” I said, rubbing my temples. “Are you saying Dallas is the one who’s been trying to get you to act like Kyle is your father or something?”

Ashton groaned. “No. He hates Kyle.”

“That makes no sense.” My frustration was reaching a boiling point. “He’s helping Kyle. He’sbeenhelping him.”

Ashton was shaking his head before I’d even finished talking. “He only acts like that. He’s done everything he can to get onKyle’s good side. Pretending to agree with everything Kyle says, making it look like he hates Cole. I think he got in too deep, and when he realized what Kyle was, it was too late to back out. So, he’s been staying close, trying to find a chance to take Kyle down.”

His story didn’t add up in my mind. I’d seen the images of Dallas doing Kyle’s bidding. Doingawfulthings. He’d injected that poor man with a drug that turned him into a wolf. Could all of that really have been an act to get closer to Kyle? If so, it meant Dallas might have more guts than anyone had given him credit for.

I refused to believe it, though. He’d stolen my son. Before I trusted him, I’d need to see it with my own eyes.

Stewing on that information, I said, “You mentioned Sydney. Are you saying that Kyle’s computer expert isn’t really on his side, either?”

Ashton nodded gravely. “Her story is even worse than Dallas’s. She hates him even more than Dallas does. They’re afraid of what he’ll do if they try to run, so they’ve stayed. I’ve seen what happens to people who don’t do what Kyle says,” he added, a dark and distant look seeping into his eyes.

My heart shattered as I imagined the awful things he may have seen.

“I think they’re making some sort of plan, though,” Ashton said.

“Why do you say that?”

“Sydney came to my room last night,” he said. “She told me that at midnight tomorrow, I need to be ready to run.”

“Run? You mean escape?” I asked.

“Yeah. Only, now it looks like it won’t just be me getting out, but you, too.” His lips twitched. “Sorry. Looks like your vacation won’t be as long as mine was.”

Vacation? Very funny. I was glad his time here hadn’t dulled his sarcasm and humor. Still, the prospect of escape filled me with hope, pushing aside the hopelessness roiling through me. But if what Ash was saying was true, I’d have to put my life in the hands of Dallas and that computer woman. Two people who, until about three minutes ago, I thought wouldn’t have pissed on me if I was on fire.

The bedroom door opened, and fear jolted through me as I assumed it was Kyle coming in. Instead, the woman I’d been thinking about a few seconds before strode in with a tray of food. She looked different from when I’d seen her on Zayde’s computer screen. Less callous, less vicious. She looked calm and almost timid. A complete one-eighty. Could Ashton be right about her and Dallas?

Sydney kicked the door shut behind her and crossed the room, setting the tray on a small table. She smiled at Ashton, then slid her gaze to me.

“Hello, Ms. Carlisle. I’m Sydney Blake. You don’t know me and have no reason to trust me, but please believe me when I say this: Dallas and I are going to get you out of here tomorrow night.”

“How are you going to do that?” I asked warily.

Sydney straightened. “Things have escalated since you’ve been taken, Avery. A man has been killed.”

“Porter. I know,” I said. “I… saw him.” My heart broke again for Porter’s family, as well as for Langston and Zayde. The three men had been inseparable the entire time I’d known them.

Sydney nodded gravely. “Kyle’s gotten word that some expertly trained wolves are on the way. Some from North Carolina and more from Iowa. Cole will have a big army soon. It’s freaking Kyle out because he hasn’t been able to build his numbers like he’s wanted. All this was supposed to be sort of stealthy, but he threw that playbook out the window when he ordered Dallas to kidnap Ashton.”

I held my hand up. “How do you know people are coming? There’s no way you could know that.”

Sydney glanced away, licking her lips nervously. “You guys protectedyourphone, but no one else’s. I managed to hack into this Langston guy’s phone. I heard everything he told his friends. Your guy, the cute black dude? He’s good.Damngood, actually,” she admitted. “But I’m still better.”

“Shit,” I muttered. None of us had thought about what might happen if Kyle’s people broke into other phones. We were so focused on protecting me, we’d never thought of it. Not even Zayde.

“I didn’t use my talents toonlyhelp Kyle, though. I did what I had to do to stay on his good side, but I’ve been compiling evidence. Video, audio, pictures, emails, texts. I’ve got enough to take this fucker down once and for all.” She looked me dead in the eye. “Will you trust me?”

---