Page 44 of The Rebirth
How could we not? Humans were on high alert now that our existence was out in the world. I didn’t think Dane would harm anyone, but given the state of mind he was in, an angry wolf might unleash his wrath on the first human to walk into his path.
The room was becoming claustrophobic. “I need to see my wife and kids.” If anyone could take my mind off things, it was definitely them.
“Not so fast, son.” My father finished off his drink and returned the empty bottle to the box. “I would like for you to accompany me tonight to an interview I’m doing with Violet Keller from CBC 4.”
I reared back. “You want me to go on TV?” That, I wasn’t expecting. “Is this the role you had in mind for me?”
My father anchored himself behind the high-back leather chair. “No. Webb, Tripp, and I want you to run our training department for new recruits.”
Fuck yeah. “That, I’ll take.” It was way more appealing and would also keep my weapons and fighting skills sharp. “I’m the wrong person to make public appearances. Layla would be better. The nation loves her.”
“Layla’s preoccupied right now,” my father said. “Look, this is a chance for humans to get to know you and change their perception of you.”
My reputation with humans—or rather, their first impression of me—was that I was a monster thanks to Rianne. She’d announced at Adam Emery’s news conference that I’d kidnapped Layla and compelled her into falling in love with me.
“Public appearances are not my thing,” I argued, although I’d promised the reporter, Tim Cox, an exclusive if he brought me leads about the whereabouts of Orion and Luna. But he hadn’t come through on that part.
“This is our chance to control the narrative,” Tripp said. “Which has always been Layla’s strategy. But your father is right. This is your chance to show humans you’re not a monster.”
“Our goal tonight, son,” my dad said, “is to announce how we’ll help those who have suffered at the hands of Adam Emery. There are several families grieving because a loved one died from Adam’s prototype program.”
Tripp’s phone trilled, nixing our conversation for the time being. “It’s Olivia.” He slid his phone to the middle of the table and hit the speaker button. “Steven, Webb, and Sam are with me.”
“We just finished our meeting with local authorities. Good news and bad.” Olivia’s voice was light, her tone businesslike. “Bad news first. A firefighter, two police officers, and a paramedic were found drained of blood on the property behind the now-defunct barn. A witness saw a naked man with blond hair walking along the road behind the farm. The witness added that the man appeared disoriented and had burn marks on his body.”
Tripp and I said in unison, “Motherfucker.”
Then I laughed. Of course Roman would survive.
My father growled. “Is it Roman?”
“From the picture the witness took, it’s hard to say,” Olivia said. “Firemen recovered the bodies of two females and a male from the farmhouse that burned down. They didn’t find a fourth.”
Maeve, Patricia, Warrick, and Roman had been the only ones in the house when Layla set it ablaze.
“What’s the good news?” Webb asked.
“The chief of police has an APB out for the vehicle Adam is in,” Olivia said on a sigh. “Conrad and I managed to snag the license plate number. The human authorities here are on our side. Whatever we need, they’ll oblige. The chief told us that protests are breaking out in Bismarck to hang Adam Emery. His offer of one hundred thousand dollars hasn’t been paid to anyone who’d signed up for his program. Family members of victims are livid.”
“Many more protests are going on around the country,” Webb added. “Not just in North Dakota.”
“Anything else, Olivia?” my father asked.
“Yes, sir. The chief also explained that while he liked Maeve and Warrick, he suspected that they were into something illegal. During the last month, there were countless deliveries to the farm—trucks unloading equipment, furniture, people coming and going. He had men watching them, but as it turned out, those cops took bribes from Warrick to keep their mouths shut.”
I pushed my chair away and leaned my elbows on my knees. “Which was why the cops didn’t show up last night when all the gunfire was going off. Agnes told us after the fact that Warrick was in tight with some of the police officers.”
Voices in the background behind Olivia grew louder. “What are our orders from here, lieutenant?”
Tripp scraped a hand along his jaw. “Hang tight until the morning. If nothing new surfaces, then return to base. I’ll have a plane waiting at the jetport. Check in with me this evening. One last thing—Adam is chopping off heads. You need to be more alert than ever. We’ve confirmed Draven Murphy is with him.”
“Copy that,” Olivia said before Tripp’s phone’s screen returned to an image of a tree-lined road covered in snow.
If Tripp had his way, he would live in the mountains and in a place that had long winters with snow year-round.
Webb rose and stretched in the process. “I’m not surprised Roman might have survived. Abbey has been having dreams of him capturing her.”
The idea of Roman succeeding in his sinister goal to get his filthy hands on my niece filled me with an intense urge to hit something. Not to mention what he’d told me in the farmhouse basement. I debated whether to share that with Webb, but in the end, I decided he needed to know, as did my father and Tripp.
