“Tell me again why I should trust you.” I asked her.
There was a long pause before she spoke again. “Harrison Hastings used to be a man I respected. I thought this serum could be a true miracle drug for humanity. Since he used it on himself, he’s turned into a veritable monster. His body has transformed. He can change it to beastly proportions at will. Fangs, claws. I fear for your mate, Mr. Baucaum.”
I felt my own fangs itch to break through my gums. My muscles tensed. Doc’s hand on my shoulder calmed me only a little.
“Is there anything else we need to know?”
“There is another man who may soon be able to transform, like Harrison, at the location. A man who may have injected the serum I mean. He is Harrison’s right-hand man. His name is Dane Garrison.”
Dane Garrison.
The name burned, familiar and bitter, lighting up every memory of that snake. We all looked around at each other. I muted the phone. “That son of a bitch.” It was Arsenal who spoke. “He’ll finally get what he deserves.”
Garrison was a member of his unit on his last deployment. His dishonorable was better than he should have gotten. Looked like he’d be on the receiving end of justice finally.
She continued. “The shifter woman is going to be on the receiving end of whatever Dane has in store if you don’t act quickly.”
“Roger that. We’ll be on the move as soon as this call ends.”
“Good luck, Mr. Baucaum. I won’t be able to do much when you make entry. He’ll kill me if he knows I’m the one who tipped you off. My name is Lila Chen.” With that, she hung up.
Menace was up and moving. “This is it, Bronc. I have no fucking doubt.” I let the words sink in and turned them over in myhead, jaw set. The sharp certainty of them filled the air around us, alive in a way I hadn’t expected. The sounds of rustling maps and gear came from my men, and I glanced up, ready to move.
“Lab was more hidden than I thought. Didnotexpect it to be below ground.” His voice turned desperate as he tapped a finger on the table, almost manic with relief. “But we’ve got what we need now. We’re gonna go get our Luna back.”
My mouth was a hard line as I scanned the hand-drawn map, taking in every mark with the speed and precision of an ex-special forces operative. “Let’s do this.” I finally spoke, not wasting breath on the way my words lifted his panic into hope. My eyes went to Doc first, then moved across the others, letting each of them see the plan form as clearly as I did.
The room was dimly lit, a single bulb flickering above us, barely penetrating the humid air. We were sweating, not just from the stifling heat, but from the weight of what Chen had just handed over. The air felt like a living thing, coiling around us, alive with tension and possibility.
My mind churned over every detail. Our contact was no fucking fool. She’d confirmed it. Big Pharma was experimenting in Costa Rica. Harrison, the bastard, had thought it would be safe enough to do the unthinkable there. He couldn’t fathom that anyone would betray him. I’d bet there was more to that story, but I didn’t give one fuck.
His biggest mistake was taking his eyes off his biggest endgame. Money. He let his dick get in the way. And I’d make sure he’d never use it again.
The weight of the words settled into the air, echoing against the bare walls, and my jaw clenched around the urgency of them. The distant traffic outside was a muffled throb against the stillness that followed, an odd counterpoint to the storm inside my head. I let the moment hang for a beat longer before the first scrape of a chair signaled our move.
“Doc.” I nodded to him. He was already tucking a folded map into his jacket. JT was next, and I didn’t miss the way his eyes found mine with an edge of dark determination. He understood. He always had. The risks, the stakes. How fucking far I was willing to go when my family was on the line.
The thought of family made my wolf stir, restless, and I pushed it back, concentrating on each decisive movement as the team packed up around me.
As I stepped out into the early evening air, the thick warmth hit me like a fist, a sharp reminder of the urgency now pushing us forward. I breathed it in, long and deep, feeling the tension wind tighter inside of me, and moved to where the others waited, my eyes scanning the street, my mind on fire.
Rain threatened the sky in muted bursts of electricity as we crossed to the next block, rounding a corner and heading toward the gritty shadows of a parking lot where a lone van stood. The space around us felt too open, exposed. I could sense the crackle of alertness in my men as we jogged the last stretch.
I swung the door open, motioning the others in with a quick jerk of my head. “Menace, Doc, Papa, Arsenal, JT, Wrecker—let’s go get our girl.”
The interior of the van was stacked with bags and equipment. Our stateside cover a handy front for the mission ahead. Nobody hesitated, years of practice snapping into place as they climbed inside, heads bent over weapons and logistics.
Big Papa, our spiritual leader, the youngest in the group but sharp as hell, slung a pack over one shoulder and gave me a wide-eyed grin. “It’s going down, Bronc.”
I met his gaze, felt the heat of shared commitment in the look we exchanged. “It’s going down.”
“Dane’s gonna shit himself.”
Doc cut in, his tone dry and precise. “Not if we take him out before he has the chance.”
I grunted, allowing a small, humorless smile. My voice held the same steel that ran through each of us, binding us to the same end. “We will. Then after we extract Juliet, we’re gonna burn that lab out of existence. Every scrap of evidence of shifters is gonna burn with it. Harrison and Dane aren’t walking out. Nobody’s walking out. Not even Dr. Chen. She may have helped us here. But she participated in the cruel torture all those abducted shifters went through. She’s got knowledge of us. She’s gotta pay for that.”
The others didn’t need more than that, a single-minded drive unifying our actions as they worked through the last of the supplies. I kept my focus on their efficiency, every fiber of my being tuned to the quick exchanges and sharp rustle of gear, but it didn’t stop my thoughts from drifting to her.
