Page 58 of The Rebirth
Maybe it was time to end her life. But was I the one to make that decision?
22
SAM
Istalked through the building, feeling frustrated as hell with blue balls to match. Just when I thought I could relax and unwind with my wife in our home, things went to shit. I’d planned on fucking her the way she liked, but I wouldn’t have argued if she wanted to watch me jack off.
As soon as I shoved open the back door of the building, the fishy salt air from Mount Hope Bay about knocked me sideways a step. The moon was bright in the night sky, casting its rays down over the water in the distance.
I scanned the car-filled parking lot, looking for Tripp as a sense of foreboding sizzled like sparklers in the humid breeze.
I hoped nothing serious had happened to Dane. I didn’t know a great deal about shifters. But it had crossed my mind that losing his brother Ross might be a reason Dane couldn’t return to human form. Something that gut-wrenching fucked with the psyche, and maybe he wanted his wolf to take over. If he did, he could lose his humanity altogether. As much as Dane and I had a rocky start to our relationship or lack thereof, I considered him a friend and part of my family now.
I checked my phone for a message from my lieutenant, making sure I didn’t miss a text telling me that he’d changed the location. Or maybe I hadn’t heard him correctly, and he’d meant the front entrance. After all, my mind had been on my wife.
I’d started to take a walk around the building when Tripp called my name. I pivoted on my heel to find him strutting down the walkway from the opposite end of the building, wearing ripped jeans, a Navy SEAL T-shirt, and his military boots. As usual, his phone was glued to his ear. The man was always putting out fires. Despite his casual attire, he had his dagger in a sheath around his leg and a gun holstered to his hip.
I listened to the voice on the other end, which sounded like Cooper.
One tap of the screen and Tripp held out his cell. “Coop, I have Sam here with me. Can you repeat what you just told me?”
“My tech guys have been scouring the net for any chatter about a white wolf in the city of Boston. Earlier today, we found a YouTube video of a guy showing off a white wolf. This Terrell Watson thought the wolf had wandered into the city from the wild and was lost.”
Tripp and I exchanged what-the-fuck looks. Wolves in the wild weren’t as large as Dane.
Cooper made a noise in the back of his throat. “Terrell found Dane on the wharfs in Boston. According to Terrell, Dane seemed sluggish and disoriented, which tells me something is physically wrong with him. His wolf would never go near a human unless he was being attacked. Although, he had hitched rides from Chicago with truckers after he’d escaped Intech with Sam. He’d had the chip in his head then.”
Dane and I had both been prisoners of Intech. Not only did Carly Aberdeen take our DNA, but she had also implanted microchips in the backs of our skulls for the sole purpose of controlling us. Adam Emery’s program to build super soldiers and use them as robots had been a failure. I had my chip removed, but to my knowledge, Dane hadn’t.
“Dane never had the device taken out,” I stated.
“My brother is one stubborn motherfucker. I’ve tried to coax him into having it surgically removed. But he’s not a fan of anyone cutting into his skull.”
“Can’t blame him there, dude,” I said.
Creases marred Tripp’s forehead. “You think the chip is fucking with him, then?”
“Possibly. Maybe the freaking thing engaged somehow.” Cooper sounded as though he wanted to tear out someone’s insides. Probably Adam Emery’s, if I had to guess. “According to Greta, Dane hasn’t been shot. There are no signs of deep wounds. My gut says it’s the chip.”
That brain-to-machine device had certainly fucked me up—to the point that I landed in a coma. Not to mention, when I rescued Layla from the clutches of Intech, her bitch of a sister, Rianne, had managed to turn on my microchip in the hopes that she could order me to kill Layla. I would have if Layla hadn’t gotten through to me.
“Dr. Vieira isn’t arriving until the morning,” Tripp said. “But Peter Landon, the scientist who originally developed the microchip, is on our staff now.”
“I remember him,” Cooper said. “Our resident doctor, Dr. Hammond, is heading your way. I’ll text you her ETA. If it is that fucking device, she’s the best one to do surgery. I would be there, but I can’t leave. We’re still cleaning up after the fiasco with Roman Brown’s men. I understand he might be alive. Actually, I hope so. Because I’m hunting down that motherfucker and taking an axe to his head once and for all. Then I’m going to do the same with Adam Emery.” He growled like the wolf he was.
“We’ll be right by your side,” I added.
“One last thing, Coop,” Tripp said. “This Terrell guy, is he going to be a problem? That video might go viral. I don’t have to tell you that humans are on edge with vampires after all of the publicity. Their curiosity is on high alert now. I wouldn’t doubt that a headline might someday read: ‘Vampires Exist. Can a Human Shift into a Wolf?’”
He sighed. “I’m not going to lie. We’re finding other videos on the Internet of Dane in Boston. But we’ve already hacked into Terrell’s computer and wiped his video.”
Tripp’s jaw flexed. “Give us an update about when Dr. Hammond will be here.” Then he clicked off. “I knew when he took off into Boston, we were going to have a problem. We can’t put out that fire. We have too much shit of our own to deal with. Can you call Jo and ask her to meet us in the infirmary while I alert the guards at the gate to allow Greta through? Then I’ll have Peter escorted to the infirmary.”
I would bet my father and Webb also knew that Dane trotting around Boston as a humongous wolf would garner attention. If the news hadn’t already reported anything on a white wolf in Boston, it wouldn’t be long.
I did as Tripp commanded, creating distance from him as he began talking to the sentries at the front gate.
My sister’s cell rang once, and Webb answered. “What happened, Sam?” His voice was rough and scratchy.
