I cleared the stairs at the bottom, and just like that, any sense of happiness vanished. “Rebekah’s brother.”
Tucker had gone missing around the time Layla had gotten lost in the West Virginia mountains not long after she’d been kidnapped by Roman. He had his men transporting her to Intech’s facility in that state. After a car accident, she’d wandered the dangerous terrain until she ended up at a cabin where she met the wolf shifter—an Army Special Forces medic. Rebekah had been looking for her brother, who’d been at the Whyte’s family cabin not long before the she-wolf had shown up.
Tripp pressed a key on his laptop, and the sound muted, then he and Webb were on their feet.
Webb gave me a tight bro hug. “I’m shocked Layla is a vampire but happy as fuck that she is. I’ve been gutted over her death.”
It was Tripp’s turn to embrace me. “So fucking happy for you, man. I’m blown away at Layla’s transformation, which you can tell me all about later. We have a video call with Conrad in a few minutes.”
Fine by me. I didn’t need to relive my wife’s death. Fuck, Layla had officially died four times now. That in and of itself made me dizzy. Yet knowing it would be harder for her to die again cleared the fog from my head.
“I hope Conrad has good news for us. I’m ready to end Adam Emery,” I said. “Before long, it might just be one of our heads in a box. By the way, I hope that after we capture him, we’re not keeping him alive to appease the federal government.” Dane and I had plans for Adam’s death.
I’d learned yesterday morning before the incident with Rianne that Conrad was following leads of sightings of Adam in Chicago. He’d also been talking to a retired Navy SEAL by the name of Grant Vega, who had sent a letter to us after the TV interview my dad, Eugene, and I had done recently. Supposedly, Grant had been keeping tabs on Adam after his news conference months ago.
“I don’t think they’ll balk at whatever we do,” my dad said, lowering his phone to his lap. “In their minds, Adam is a terrorist who needs to be stopped at all costs. Actually, they’re hoping a civilian takes him out.”
I stabbed a finger at the box. “Where’s the note?”
Webb retrieved the letter from beside his notepad and handed it to me.
I read it as I dropped into a chair beside Tripp while he and Webb resumed their seats side by side.
Steven,
This is your final warning to meet my demand to free my brother, Fred, now! Otherwise, it won’t be just one head but several that will be delivered to your doorstep now that I have intel from Tucker Whyte on shifter packs up and down the East Coast. If that doesn’t light a fire under your ass, I’ll find any person who matters to you and those around you and chop off their heads. And I won’t stop until Fred is released.
“Steven, maybe we should reconsider releasing the asshole,” Tripp said.
At the head of the table, my father bared his fangs as his nostrils flared. “If we let Fred go, he’ll give Adam the thumb drive with my brother’s genetic files. If that happens, not only are we right back to square one, but we can’t afford for those files to leak to anyone else. It’s bad enough Draven Murphy is involved.” He jammed a finger at the monitor where people were crowding the streets, protesting with signs that read Murder Adam Emery or Adam Emery is the worst monster of all. “This country is about to riot, and I’m sure there are many humans out there who want to eradicate us as well.”
“If we can show the public we’ve stopped Adam, then maybe that will sway them to our side,” Webb said.
Not that long ago, humans were picketing with signs that read Free Layla all because some humans thought I was a monster. Thanks to Rianne, who had been at Adam’s news conference and announced to the nation that Layla was being held by a bloodsucking vampire against her will.
How the tides had shifted in such a short time. Instead of the cameras being on us, they were on Adam. He was his own worst enemy. He’d started this fucking shit show when he’d gone on TV and announced that vampires were real, even going so far as having Matthew Costner prove to the nation we existed. But the spotlight could revert to us once again.
Still, I couldn’t totally blame Adam. After all, I’d been the one whose vampire face went viral even before Adam’s news conference.
“What do you think Adam’s going to do next, Steven?” Webb asked.
My dad’s green eyes swirled to a steely silver. “Probably come for his brother. That’s what I would do.”
“We’ve recently had all the gates reinforced, so it will be difficult to plow through them with a vehicle like Carly did,” Tripp said. “Nevertheless, we’ll increase patrols on land and water.”
If someone was desperate to penetrate our fortress, they would find a way, and Mount Hope Bay that bordered one side of our perimeter was probably the best way to attack us. We had boat patrols and guards stationed at key points along the water, but a group of divers could probably sneak by our troops.
“As soon as we conclude here, I want our scouts scouring the area outside of the naval base,” my father said. “That includes neighborhoods, the downtown area, and the abandoned textile mills in Fall River. Everywhere and anywhere close by, just in case.”
Tripp tapped a key on his laptop. “I definitely agree with searching the local area, but according to this news segment, there have been sightings of Emery in Chicago. And Conrad will have an update for us in a minute.”
Tim Cox’s brown hair was disheveled, and his tie was blowing around in the wind. “The crowds are growing larger here outside Intech’s corporate headquarters. People are angry and up in arms with owner and CEO, Adam Emery, for his prototype program’s failed attempts at using humans to genetically alter their DNA to build an army of super soldiers. There have been sightings of Adam in the city, indicating that he’s returned to this building you see behind me.”
Adam didn’t strike me as someone who would be stupid enough to rekindle his program at the same building that we and the Feds had raided.
“It’s time to bring up Conrad.” Tripp punched several keys on his laptop.
Within seconds, Conrad, the vampire scout with black hair and hazel eyes, came on-screen.
