Prince kept the ring in his possession since Kat had expressed concern about Vlad searching her. His black pants had several pockets with a flap, so Prince concealed it in one of the compartments on his right pant leg.
Going alone on a mission without his pack gave him a renewed sense of purpose. His father had discouraged him from forming a pack at a young age, instead teaching him how to build alliances. When Prince became a man, he remained within his father’s pack, watching and learning. Sometimes when action was called for, Prince was the man to do the dirty work—a job his father said would test him as a man. This hunt brought back memories of an earlier time when he had fewer responsibilities and more freedom.
It brought out the hunter in him.
When his phone rang, he put it on speaker. “Greta, what’s going on?”
“He’s on the move.”
“Stay close, and don’t let him out of your sight.”
“The sun’s going down, but that’s not the only thing going down. There are two cars. The second one is a dark blue sedan with a wolf decal on the back windshield. You can’t miss it. If they split up, who do you want me to follow?”
Prince glanced in his rearview mirror at Kat. “Did you get a look at them?”
“I couldn’t risk getting too close when they pulled out, but there’s only one man in each car from what I can see.”
“What about the location?”
“A guy named Reno showed up and stayed behind to check out the property. He said he’s with the Weston pack and you hired him. He wanted me to relay the message.”
The light turned green and Prince accelerated. “Good. Tell him to call me if he finds anything. If you don’t have his number—”
She laughed. “I got it. He must have been military or something because he was barking out orders like Patton. He thought there might be captives inside, and that’s when we split up.”
“Which direction are you heading?”
The line went silent for a moment, followed by, “I lost them! I lost them!”
“What direction?” he shouted.
“North. North from the primary location. I got boxed in at a light and then they suddenly hit the gas and split up.”
Prince had to make a decision. “Circle the area and keep an eye out in case they return to the house. You’ve done your job.”
After hanging up, Prince headed north. It was the only direction Vlad would sensibly travel if he wanted to get out of the state; leaving the city wouldn’t place him far enough out of Prince’s reach.
His phone rang again, and this time it was Kat.
“What’s going on?” she asked in a cool voice.
“What makes you think—”
“Because you missed the green light by five seconds?”
“My tracker lost him.”
Through his mirror he watched her hitting the steering wheel, and colorful profanities filled the silence of his car. Prince didn’t like how late it was getting—it would only make it harder to track Vlad. Darkness was descending as the streetlights twinkled with new light, and bats circled erratically in the dimming sky.
“Hang up so you don’t miss his call,” she finally said. “If he suspects for a minute that we’re following him, he won’t leave the city. Do we still have checkpoints set up on the main arteries?”
“Yes. Unless he knows the back roads, he won’t get past the blockades.”
“Charming?”
His eyes flicked up in the rearview mirror, but because of the headlights, all he could make out was the outline of her head. “Yes?”
“I don’t know. I suddenly felt like I needed to tell you something, but I’m not sure what. Promise me you won’t let him get away.”
