Page 68 of The Union
Olivia and Tripp stood by the circular reception desk in the lobby, talking in hushed tones.
“Stop by the transient house and check on Dane, please,” Tripp said to Olivia. “I’m not sure if Vera left with Ross and Cooper. We have a guard stationed outside the house, but I don’t trust the shifters.”
She swept her long brown braid behind her shoulder. “Will do, sir.” Then she punched me in the arm, which from her was more of a love tap. Olivia was like a big sister to me. “Dude, don’t scare me like that again.”
I gave her a hug. “I don’t plan on it.” Man, I was hugging everyone except the one woman who I should be upstairs snuggling with, especially at one in the morning. But my adrenaline was off the charts, and if I stayed in bed with Layla, I wouldn’t be able to keep my hands off her, and she needed rest.
After Olivia left, I asked Tripp, “Why did Ross and Cooper leave without Dane?” Before Layla and I had left the infirmary, Peter had managed to shut down Dane’s chip. I gathered it had been a difficult task with him as a wolf. Doc had ordered Dane to stay on base for a few days in case he required more medical attention. Apparently, he’d been severely dehydrated, and Doc wanted to perform some tests. Plus, Peter needed Dane close by in the event he needed Dane, since he was analyzing both our chips.
Nevertheless, the alpha and I weren’t friends, but I was relieved he wasn’t in the hands of Carly. The verdict was still out as to why Dane was having problems shifting. Peter didn’t think Dane’s chip had malfunctioned, which was another reason he was studying the data. But actions and reactions to a device that controls the brain differed in each victim, according to Peter. For example, I couldn’t recall that I’d attacked Peter or my sister with the chip engaged, whereas Dane’s mind remained intact. He just couldn’t shift to human form. Peter theorized Intech had programmed Dane to stay as a wolf. If he did, then Dane’s wolf would take over, and he would lose himself and his humanity—become the predator he was born to be.
“The Gray compound is in upstate New York,” Tripp said.
Immediately, I connected the dots. “Close to the Catskills?”
He hardened his jaw, his bronze eyes loaded with questions. “Yeah.”
“Do you think they’re working with Intech?” That was a crazy question, considering the fact that Dane was a victim like me.
“I don’t think so,” Tripp said. “But Ross keeps blaming Layla for their involvement in this.”
“He does?” Man, I had missed shit.
Tripp scratched his neck. “I shouldn’t be telling you this, only because you’ll hunt Ross down, but he seems to have it out for Layla. Frankly, even aside from his hatred for her, I don’t trust him. He’s helped in the search for Emery, Roman, and others, but only because we were looking for Dane too.”
“If Ross even thinks of laying a hand on her, I will behead the fucking mutt.” At some point, my patience would self-combust, and my enemies wouldn’t see me coming. “Aside from Ross, I can’t grasp the shifters siding with Intech. Dane was in that glass room with me. Roman set him up. Unless Ross was a lone wolf.” I could get behind that.
“I sent Crysta and Kraft to do some reconnaissance to help out Ross if need be, and they can watch things for us as well.”
“Good move, dude.” I hadn’t seen Tripp’s cousin in a while. Aside from her relation to Tripp, Crysta was a shifter and one hell of a tracker. If anyone could find a needle in the haystack, it was her. Her business as a private investigator in the supernatural world was flourishing, and she was in high demand.
She’d been hired to track one of our own at the request of Petty Officer Crowe’s parents several years ago. Crowe and his partner, Quade, had gone missing on one of our missions. The Crowe family felt that my government had done nothing to find their son. Not only had Crysta found Crowe but also Webb, Olivia, Kraft, Sloan, and Kodiak. Their plane had gone down over the Alaskan mountains in their quest to follow a lead on Crowe and Quade. Sadly, Crowe and Quade had been found dead alongside Sloan, who’d suffered at the hands of my uncle Patrick’s brutal experiments.
Tripp tipped his head toward the room. “Are you ready? The perimeter is clear. If Junior has anyone with him, they’re not in the vicinity. But Sawyer is monitoring the street cams around the city and checking hotels.”
“We can always have Jo or my dad read Junior’s mind.” We didn’t have to sweat things too much with that weapon in our arsenal.
“Whichwillhappen before he leaves here,” Tripp said as we entered the room.
Besides the long table and several chairs, the walls were decorated with photos of fighter jets and our mission statement.
Junior sat in a chair with his back to one wall, facing us and texting.
Tripp stabbed a thumb at the phone. “Give that to me.”
“Why?” Junior bit out in a derogatory tone. “What I have on my phone is none of your business.”
Tripp slapped a hand on the table. The sound boomed in the small room.
Whoa! Tripp never flew off the handle unless he had a good reason. Yet, with the pressure we were under, my coma, and the microchips, the tension was high. I’d felt it when I walked into the command center. Not only that, but we’d been on this road show once before, and the outcome had been death and destruction for both humans and vampires.
Still, a power-hungry enemy wasn’t one to treat carelessly, particularly one who would go to great lengths to get what he wanted. Therefore, if we couldn’t contain what was to come, humanity might cease to exist.
Regardless, I wasn’t about to tell my superior officer to stay calm, because if he didn’t take Junior’s phone, I would.
Junior levered backward, almost toppling over in his chair. “The fuck.” He narrowed his blue eyes and slid his phone to Tripp. “Have a blast, man.”
I flipped a chair around and straddled the seat across from Junior. “What would you do if you were in our shoes?” I preferred to play the bad cop, but Tripp was doing a bang-up job.
