That checks out, I guess.
THANE
Yeah. Interesting. Where did you get that information, Whiskey?
WHISKEY
Fan chat bro
THANE
Oh. Good idea.
Whiskey holds up his phone to me like I can't read the group chat myself. "See? Even ourdear leaderthinks it's a good idea that I keep an eye on the fan shit."
I sigh. "Okay. Sure. It's a good idea. Are you happy now?"
"Yup," he says, pocketing his phone. "The chat spotted Valek an hour ago at a fancy bakery, so we should head that way first. Either he's meeting up with an informant over lattes and cinnamon buns, or he really is having a family emergency." He winces. "Shit… I feel kinda bad if that's true."
"Don't tell me you're on his side now."
He shoots me a look like I'm the crazy and irrational one here. "Of course not. Just looking at all the facts. I'm still gonna take him out the first chance I get."
That makes my eyebrows shoot up. "We are not going to 'take him out.'"
Whiskey glances around the airport like someone might have heard him and he's going to get in trouble for that. "I mean… take him out for dinner or somethin'. You know. To welcome him to the team."
I roll my eyes and grab my suitcase as it slides by on the carousel. A wheel catches on the metal lip running alongside the conveyer built and Whiskey lifts it to the floor like it weighs nothing.
"I don't need help with my bag," I say through my teeth.
"I know," he says, giving me a lazy grin as he grabs his own luggage. "You know, you could try being excited about our little adventure."
"Oh, I'm thrilled," I say. "Our pack's scent match is off gallivanting around a town straight out of a horror movie with our pack leader and his feral brother, who put our previous winger through a wall, and now we're stalking the replacement in another country. What's not to love?"
He laughs, slinging an arm around my shoulders. "This?"
I immediately shrug him off.
This is going to be a long fucking mission.
Chapter
Fifty-One
VALEK
My rental car purrs as I drive through Northwyke. Black, of course. I've always preferred vehicles that disappear into shadows, that don't draw unnecessary attention like I do with my nearly white hair and silver eyes. Though in this quaint town with its perfectly maintained storefronts and colorful cars and cheerful pedestrians, a sleek black sedan stands out in another way.
Like a raven among pigeons.
My fingers drum against the leather steering wheel. The situation is deteriorating faster than I anticipated. Falling apart at the seams, really.
She's not going to make this easy.
I knowthatmuch.
My jaw clenches hard enough to make my teeth ache. The butterfly bandages on my temple pull with the movement as I accelerate through a yellow light, earning a loud honk from a truck and my own middle finger in return.
