“That’s fucking disgusting,” I growled. “You weren’t hurt?”
Mitchel shook his head. “One of the Alphas, he said his name was Otto? Well, he kept me safe until Mr. Boreal got me out last night.”
Seeing that Mitchel was running out of steam, Jackson took over. “Clark ninjaed his way in last night and brought Mitchel out, but we need a place for him to stay while we get him on his feet.” Jackson bit his lip and I knew there was more. “Dane, before you agree to anything, you need to know that this one is touchy. Not only is he the warden’s kid and will probably have to testify against his father, he’s also only seventeen and he isn’t safe going back to that house.”
I nodded. “Okay. Has a complaint been filed with the authorities?”
“Not yet,” Jackson sighed. “Clark hooked up with some of the Böxenwolf Brigade alums for a rescue party first. We need to get as many of the related trafficking victims out as possible before we alert the VBI and Homeland Security, otherwise, the ring will go up in smoke as soon as the Warden is arrested.”
“Not the councils?”
Jackson shook his head. “They seem to only be trafficking humans, so no.”
“When do you turn eighteen, Mitchel?” I asked gently.
“Not for almost a year,” he whispered. “My birthday was two months ago.”
“Alright,” I said, holding my hand out to him. “Let me show you to your room. Get some rest and we’ll start making plans when you’re not so tired.” When his eyes darted back to Jackson, I smiled. “Did Otto tell you he had a friend that would help?”
I’d known Otto too long not to already know the answer.
“Yeah,” Mitchel confirmed. “I thought that was Mr. Boreal?”
I shook my head. “We’ll explain everything later, but Clark and Jackson can’t have the people they rescue stay with them. When Otto mentioned his friend, he meant me. I promise you on a lifetime of friendship with him, you are safe with me.”
Chapter Two
Mitchel
Five Years Later
Robert C. Byrd United States Courthouse
Charleston, West Virginia
The deepthudof the judge’s gavel echoed through the courtroom, announcing the end of the trial. I wasn’t sure if it was the finality of the sound or the icy glare my father leveled at me as he was led from the courtroom making me shiver. My mother had sat in the gallery as well, but after one angry look the first day, she refused to acknowledge me.
“Well, that takes care of that,” the man next to me in the gallery announced to the room in general. “All over but the prison time.”
I exhaled and carefully rose to my feet, trying not to draw attention to myself. The man had sat next to me nearly every day, always been pleasant, and tried to draw me into conversation several times during the course of my father’s trial, but something about him made me uncomfortable.
“You’re not leaving already?”
I sent him a tense smile as I scooched past him in the narrow aisle. “I’m afraid so. I need to get to work.”
“You still have my number?”
He’d slipped it to me scribbled on the back of his business card the second day of the trial. Wasn’t planning touseit, but Ididstill have it - mostly because I’d forgotten it was crammed into the pocket of my jacket - so I nodded and kept walking.
I tried to blend into the large crowd surging toward the exit, the laughter and raucous chatter that made it clear I wasn’t the only one happy to see the demon convicted also gave me the perfect excuse for not responding.
We may have all been happy to see justice done, but I suspected I’d be seeing my father in my nightmares for the foreseeable future.
~*~
Dane
I’d been leaning against the stone facing of the courthouse’s exterior wall for the better part of the morning and my bad leg was starting to stiffen up. I knew the sentencing portion of former prison warden Fraser’s trial would take awhile, but, honestly, if I’d realized just how long it would take, I probably would have brought a folding chair. Still, given the choice of being comfy at home or being on hand for any support that my friend might need, there really wasn’t a choice.
