Page 98 of The Hunted
Dane glowered, his eyes flashing bright red. “If there’s a drug out there that could wipe out our entire species, I will do what it takes to protect my pack and other packs as well. Are you going to help us or not?”
Webb dragged a hand along his rock-solid jaw. “On one condition, and this is non-negotiable. You leave the Aberdeens alone. And before you protest, I understand that you want revenge, but we have bigger things at play here. We don’t want a war on our hands with the Aberdeens or with you. Our role is to keep the peace. We’re here to protect humans from your kind, our kind, and any supernatural. Do we have a deal?” Webb stared at Dane.
Dane considered Vera then Webb. “As long as you can uncover what the drug is and how to protect us against it, you have my pack behind you.”
“Very well,” Webb said. “We have a mess to clean up here. I have vampire hunters to deal with. Give us some time. I’ll set up a meeting with our resident doctor who is skilled in finding and developing antidotes.”
The tension clearly left Dane as he lowered his shoulders. Then Webb and Dane exchanged phone numbers before the shifters left.
I rubbed the back of my neck. “One problem down for now. So when did the uncles show up?” I asked Webb.
“They flew into Boston last night. I guess they had a hard time renting a car, given that most of the rental car companies closed due to the weather.”
I was surprised the airport hadn’t cancelled flights in and out. “And they knew where we were?”
“Apparently, the scout we have in Montana told them, or Jack threatened it out of him,” Webb said.
Tripp strode toward us as the uncles joined their nieces under the portico. Once he reached us, he flicked his head at the Aberdeens. “I’m going to take Ray up to the infirmary so Dr. Vieira can stitch up his hand. After that, the Aberdeens have a plane to catch.”
“Steven wanted to talk to Jack,” Webb said.
Tripp dragged a hand along his stubbled jaw. “There is no talking to those men, Webb. They need to leave. At the moment, their issue is their nieces. Let them get their family shit under control. Then Steven might have a better chance at Jack listening to him.”
Webb nodded. “You’re probably right. We have a ton to do here, anyway.”
“Layla’s leaving too?” I asked as I checked on Layla. She was absorbed in listening to Jack who appeared to be furious.
“It’s best if she does,” Webb and Tripp said in unison.
I wasn’t ready to let Layla go, but I wasn’t in charge. Besides, I had to choose my battles, and Webb was right. We had our hands full with shifters and many unanswered questions about Roman.
“Did we find Ben?” I searched the grounds but didn’t see him.
“No,” Webb said. “Sawyer has been trying consistently to get a ping on his phone’s tracker.”
“Everything secure with Roman’s transport?” Tripp asked Webb.
Webb nodded. “He’s on his way to our holding facility at the city airport. His fate now lies in the hands of the Council of Elders. I need to call Steven and Jo.” He tapped on his phone as he walked away.
The million-dollar question was how Roman knew about Abbey? With my old man on the council, I shouldn’t be worried. After all, he had mind-reading abilities.
“Sam, head in and find out where Sawyer is with pinging Ben’s phone,” Tripp ordered. “I’ll handle the Aberdeens.”
He was better at keeping the peace than I was, especially given that Jack Aberdeen was a hothead.
“By the way, how did Roman snag Ray?” I asked.
Tripp shook his sandy-blond head of hair, which was pulled back into a low ponytail. “He went out for a smoke just as Roman stormed the base. Then one thing led to another, and when Ray saw Jordyn, he went apeshit. Roman learned who Ray was and decided to use him as a bargaining chip. He knew we wouldn’t let the humans die.” He took a breath. “We were prepared for Roman, but the minute we saw Jordyn with C-4, our plan came apart. Then it was chaos.”
I stabbed my thumb at the building. “I’ll find out where we are with Ben.” The fact that he wasn’t anywhere in sight made me worry. “I just want to talk to Layla for a minute.”
“Make it quick,” he returned as we made our way toward Layla and her family.
Jack wagged a finger at each of the sisters. “You’ve really started a shitstorm here. It’s time you head home with us.”
“We don’t want to go home with you,” Rianne said.
Layla was quiet, but her rapid pulse and the rage pouring off her were telling a different story. “You came all this way to rescue us? Why? Since our father died, you’ve wanted nothing to do with us.”
