As I hopped into my Jeep, an evil laugh roared in the deep recesses of my brain, and the hackles on the back of my neck shot to attention.
Not a good sign.
8
SAM
Thirty minutes later, I was walking into the infirmary. Doc’s home away from home served as a research facility as well as a mini hospital. A pristine white-tiled floor punched a path down the middle, separating waist-high lab benches that traveled the length of the room on two sides.
I stopped and listened, testing out my hearing. Normally, when I entered, I could hear the soft whir of the overhead exhaust fan as though I was standing next to it. I concentrated on the large piece of equipment against the left wall, but only a faint hum trickled into my ears instead of the usual loud engine-type sound.
Doc came out of one of the patient rooms that banked the wall to my right and swung his brown gaze my way. “Sam, I’ll be a few minutes.” He sauntered over to Peter Landon, who was hunched over a laptop on one of the lab benches.
The scientist responsible for developing the chip—not for the reasons Adam Emery had but to help the handicapped community—flicked salt-and-pepper hair from his forehead as he regarded Doc. The two started chatting.
I was curious if Peter had any answers on how to remove the rice-grain-size device. Since he’d managed to shut it down, he’d been studying the programming code.
While I waited for Doc, it was a perfect time to talk to Jordyn. She might be able to shed some light on Layla’s kidnappers other than Roman.
I’d started for her room when the double doors behind me opened, and a whoosh of air blew in. The aroma of wet dog wafted in the air. At least my sense of smell was still on point.
I tossed a look over my shoulder. Dane Gray, alpha to the Gray Pack, strutted in, wearing a scowl the size of the state of California as he narrowed his russet-colored eyes. He seemed like he wanted to bash my head in for some reason. To my knowledge, I hadn’t done anything to provoke the alpha despite us not liking each other.
I sneered. “Who pissed in your dog food?”
He threw me the finger with one hand and swiped the other through his unkempt white hair. “Still a dickwad, I see.” He stabbed a finger at Doc and Peter. “They better have good news.”
“Or what?” I mashed my lips into a thin line, keeping my fangs tucked in as best I could.
He let out a low growl, his eyes flashing red. “I’m going on a killing spree.”
My fangs shot out of their own accord. Maybe because I was ready to murder someone—anyone—if I didn’t find Layla soon.
“Dude, I’ll join you,” I said.
As we stared at each other, something Tripp had said the other night hit me. Dane’s brother, Ross Gray, had a hard-on for Layla. He’d kept blaming her for his pack’s involvement with Roman, Intech, and mainly for the death of one of their own.
Our trek down chaos lane had started at the vampire club two months ago when I’d met Layla. She and her sisters had never intentionally set out to kill anyone that night, which was odd for hunters whose family had been murdering my kind for centuries. Their job was to capture me by luring me out into the open and to shoot a drug-filled dart into me to knock me out. But in the process, they killed a woman—a shifter from the Gray Pack who’d been dating, of all people, Roman Brown.
“What’s wrong?” Dane asked. “Do you have a stick up your ass?”
Even though Dane and Ross were brothers, I didn’t see the resemblance. Ross was bald with hazel eyes. Maybe he had white hair before he shaved his head.
“Actually, I do,” I returned.
Dane snarled and stepped into my personal space, his disgusting breath snapping me out of my funk. “Then spit it out.”
We were about the same height—well over six feet. We had the same build, and I would like to think I would win if we ever had the chance to fight. Maybe the time to air out our differences was now. It was clear we were both harboring some pent-up emotions—anger and frustration, to be exact.
“You and I need to go a few rounds,” I said through clenched teeth.
His nostrils flared. “No question about that.”
“You need to tame your second-in-command. If Ross lays one hand on Layla, I’ll gut him.”
Dane jerked back. “What are you talking about?”
I angled my head as something occurred to me. “Is Ross working with Roman or Intech?”
