“I’d say this counts. Come on, they’ll be at the steps any moment.”
He and Cole silently followed her into the next cavern and right over to the water. The underground lake was a lot bigger in there, and under any other circumstances, Logan would’ve been impressed with its beauty, but not now.
Not when their lives were in danger.
Max stopped in front of two lines of crates, three to each row. They’d been set up as a sort of display with old fishing nets, lobster baskets, and seaweed arrayed over them. On the surface everything looked neglected enough to fit in with the state of the outside, but someone had been keeping things fresh. This close up, the whole place stank of fish and the sea, overpowering any other scents.
“We figured if you’ve never been here before, you wouldn’t know it wasn’t meant to be here.” She whispered, hurrying round to the back of the display. “Quick.”
The back of the second line of crates opened as one connected piece, revealing an open space underneath it all. Room for about five, maybe six people at a push.
Logan helped Max inside, then Cole, careful to be as quiet as possible. He motioned for Max to shut the crate door, sealing her and Cole inside.
“Thank you.” Max offered him a sad smile, then pulled the crate closed.
Logan shut his eyes for a second, straining to hear the others approach. They were taking their time walking across the rum store, thank God, and didn’t seem to have heard anything to make them suspicious.
He waited, pulse racing.
All too soon he listened to them come down the stone steps and enter the cave next door, the screech of chairs being moved and boxes being ripped open giving them away.
They’d look in here next. He had try and stop them.
With nothing to lose, Logan gritted his teeth and walked in there, head held high and full of confidence. “You’re wasting your time,” he said, voice steady. “They’re long gone.”
Growls filled the room and three guns pointed his way.
The shock of seeing Aaron holding one of them almost made him falter, but he kept up the act, barely.
Three others from Paul’s team accompanied him, one in wolf form, but Logan recognised the other two—Tim and Lewis. They weren’t the worst from that team, but they were committed to the cause, and that made them deadly as far as Logan was concerned.
“What the fuck are you doing here, Logan?” Tim stepped forward, gun trained on Logan’s heart.
“Same as you I presume.” He tried to catch Aaron’s eye, but his friend was staring past him, refusing to look at him. Hoping they didn’t know much at all, he said, “I was tracking Cole after he failed to show up for a meeting. How did you find this place?”
Tim smirked. “Could ask you the same thing. Pretty convenient that your candidate goes missing, parents killed in a car crash, and you turn up at the very place Moreton was supposedly heading to.” He took a step closer, and then another, until the muzzle of his gun touched Logan’s chest. “I don’t believe in coincidences, Logan.” Regret coloured his expression for a moment, but then he was back to all business.
A quick nod was all it took, and Logan was wrestled to the ground by Lewis, hands pulled up roughly behind his back. He could’ve resisted, possibly beaten Lewis, but he had no doubt Tim would shoot him if he tried.
Lewis cuffed his hands, the silver-iron mix burning his skin and sapping his strength, and dragged him over to one of the chairs.
“What the fuck, Tim? We’re in the same pack,” Logan spat.
“We are, but unless you can convincingly explain how you found this place so quickly, with no help from us, then I’m going to assume you’re here because you fucking helped Moreton get here.” Pulling out his phone, Tim rolled his eyes. “Of course there’s no bloody service down here. Someone needs to go back up and phone Paul, tell him who we’ve found.”
“I’ll go,” Aaron spoke up. He’d been quiet up till that point, and Logan had hoped that he’d been dragged along under duress, but he seemed quite happy to follow Tim’s orders. “I need to check in with Jacob anyway; Logan’s part of his team.”
Tim nodded. “Hurry back. I want to get this place searched and get out of here.” He glanced up at the cavern roof and grimaced. Obviously not a fan of being underground either.
Aaron jogged towards the steps, phone in hand. Logan waited for him to look back, for some sign that he might believe Logan’s story or that their friendship still meant something, but Aaron looked straight ahead as he disappeared out of sight.
Would Jacob be able to help? Would he lie to protect Logan or sacrifice him to keep everyone else safe? Logan wouldn’t blame him if he did, and he would never tell anyone what little he knew, no matter what they did to him, and Jacob knew that.
“We had a tracker on Cole,” Logan tried, on the off-chance Jacob lied for him. “That’s how I found him. Lost the signal a few miles out, and by the time I came across this place, he was gone.”
Tim sniffed the air, not looking at all convinced. “Scent smells pretty fresh to me. And he wasn’t alone.” Turning to the wolf, he said. “Zac, search the whole place. Lewis, go with him. Shoot anyone you find except Moreton.”
Logan fought not to react as he watched them go back up the stairs to the rum store. Thank fuck they were starting up there first, he didn’t fully trust the fishy crates to confuse a shifter nose in wolf form. He hoped he was wrong.
