Page 18 of A Lion's Heart
Decan didn’t even look at Keller. “We need to know more about her before we include her in any of our plans. For all we know she could already be a mole for someone else,” he said to Gold. “And furthermore, it’s a ridiculous and unrealistic rule to think you can tell shifters where to go and when.”
This wasn’t the first time he disagreed with one of the Assembly Leader’s rules, but he was careful to never voice those opinions, outside this circle of three.
“Containment has been Rome’s answer since the Unveiling,” Keller added.
“He tried it the other way and more shifters died,” Gold said. “But we shouldn’t have to be friendly with those who refuse to befriend us.”
“They’re not all like that,” Decan said.
“No. But we don’t always have the luxury of time to figure out which ones are open to our kind or not,” Keller reminded him.
“I agree,” Decan replied, before looking pointedly at Keller. “Which is why we should continue on to the Central Zone in the morning.”
“So you can drop off the Assembly Leader’s daughter and head above ground to continue the surveillance you’ve put on hold for the past six months.” It was a statement. Not an order because Keller knew it was futile to ever speak to Decan in that tone. Still, he hadn’t formed it as a question either, probably because he didn’t want Decan to think he had a choice. Decan knew he didn’t. He’d fully committed himself to their quest. He wasn’t backing down now. Even if his lion was threatening his sanity with the instant heat and draw to a female he should not give a damn about.
Before Decan could reply his comlink buzzed from its place on his left wrist. He immediately looked down at the screen to see an incoming call. Already carrying the guilt of things he hadn’t shared with Keller and Gold, Decan decided to answer the call using the speaker function. Keller and Gold knew nothing about the Assembly Leader asking Decan to assist Jace Maybon with the search for Cole Linden. Considering the sensitive nature of the search and how many members of the Shadow Shifters had spoken out against using their limited resources on continuing the search, Decan was fairly certain Jace wouldn’t mention it on this line.
“Good evening, Faction Leader Maybon,” he said as he looked up at a shocked and suspicious Keller and Gold.
They both knew to remain silent as they listened.
“Good evening, Decan. I wanted to check on your location and get your ETA for tomorrow,” Jace Maybon stated.
Jace was the wild card of the FLs. The brash and opinionated owner of one of Los Angeles’s largest talent agencies. At least that was how he used to be known. Since the disappearance of Cole Linden, Jace had been somber and just on the brink of going completely rogue in order to find his friend. Decan could easily relate to that type of dedication and simmering rage. He carried his own scars and had personal goals to assuage them. So he spoke in his normal tone when replying to the FL.
“The Everglades,” he told Jace. “Leaving first thing in the morning. Should get to you by nightfall.”
“Good,” Jace replied. “We’ve had an interesting development that I want you to follow up on immediately.”
“Yes. I’ll only be there a few days and then I’ll be heading back in this direction,” Decan lied. Something he’d been doing a lot of lately.
“Change in plans,” Jace told him. “Get here as soon as you can and I’ll give you the details. And check your vehicles when we disconnect. The tracking devices must not be working because we’re unable to see your location on any of the positioning maps.”
The call was disconnected before Decan could reply. He had no intention of telling the FL that the trackers had been disabled on each of the vehicles before they even entered into the Florida area. Not to mention the fact that this bunker and a thirty mile radius were protected by a power grid that not only supplied electricity and heat to this facility, but also kept any unauthorized devices from working while on the premises.
“So they’ve been trying to track you,” Keller said as he sat on the edge of the heavily glossed wood table.
That, six chairs and a mini-bar were the only furniture in this room. That’s the way Keller had designed it. Minimal and private. It was what their team needed.
“We figured they would, that’s why we dismantled the tracking devices before we got close to the bunker so they wouldn’t receive a scramble signal,” Gold stated.
“She never even bothered to check,” Decan said as he flattened his palms on the table and leaned his weight on the furniture. “She was so busy trying to figure out why the bunker wasn’t on her maps that she never noticed the light had stopped blinking on the dashboard and no doubt somewhere on that board she carries around like a detachable body part.”
“But she’s going to figure it out soon, isn’t she?” Keller asked. “She has a reputation of being too intelligent for her own good. That’s why you need to get rid of her as soon as you possibly can.”
That was much easier said than done, Decan thought as he pushed back and nodded. “We’re leaving at four. Set your alarm,” he told Gold who replied with a wry chuckle.
“You think getting up early is going to throw her off the scent of the lies you’re force feeding her?” he asked.
Decan stopped at the door and looked over his shoulder at both of them. They had no idea that he was also keeping something from them.
“I think I’ve been running covert operations for a long time,” he told them. “So having the little lady as cargo for the time being is no big deal. We’re still on track to finish what we started. Nisa Reynolds has nothing to do with that.”
He seemed pretty confident as he stepped through the door and heard the almost imperceptible click when it slid closed behind him. But as Decan walked down the winding hall toward the room where Nisa was sleeping, he wasn’t so sure.
She was inquisitive. And she was sexier and more enticing than he’d thought she would be up close and personal. That was a combination he’d never faced in all the covert ops he’d worked during his time in the US military.
She was unexpected, he concluded as he approached her room and unlocked the door. But she wasn’t going to stop him. Not her, the Assembly Leader or Jace Maybon were going to stop the events he’d set in motion. He wouldn’t allow them.
