“As far as I know, there isn’t a human hunting season. Care to explain why you have them trussed up like Thanksgiving turkeys?”
“Is there a shifter hunting season I don’t know about?” asked Ghost.
Elliot’s eyes widened. “They were hunting shifters?”
“Caught ‘em in the act.”
Flicking his eyes over to the humans, Elliot contemplated his next move. Then, deciding it wasn’t his business since his job was to protect wildlife, he smiled. “I’ll leave them to you. Have a good day.” Heading back to the cab of his truck, he grabbed the door handle, but before opening it, said, “In case you’re wondering, they’re all safe now…I neutralized the explosive devices they have in them.” Grinning at Ghost’s perplexed look, Elliot said, “You’re welcome, by the way.” Then, pulling open the door, he slid in and, after giving one more glance at the shifters, put his truck in gear and drove off.
Looking in his rear view mirror, Elliot chuckled at the frown on the tiger’s face staring after him. He was sure that as soon as the tiger could, he’d be doing a search on him.Well good luck with that!Continuing on to the coordinates of the explosion, he shook his head at the sudden twist his life had just taken. It was an unexpected but welcome surprise. Setting that aside for the moment, he concentrated on finding an explanation for the explosion that his very human boss would accept. It was going to be tricky, especially with the video, but if push came to shove, he could always use his abilities to make everyone forget it. Turning on the radio, he smiled as his finger tapped the wheel along with the music, and he made a mental note to send a thank-you gift to the Fates.
~/~/~/~/~
Josiah turned off the engine, listening as the sounds of the forest rose up and filled the silence. By his estimate, he still had two miles to go before arriving at Hunter’s cabin, but those miles would be done on foot. He couldn’t risk suddenly appearing in a car, especially after finding out Hope was alive and was mostly likely a witness—although from what Alpha Evans told him, she wasn’t in any condition to do so. That piece of knowledge was a double-edged sword. On one hand, it meant there was one less witness to get rid of, but he’d still have to kill her since she might remember later on. And that was a risk he wasn’t going to take, no matter how much he wanted her.
Carefully surveying his surroundings and finding nothing out of the ordinary, Josiah was now confident that his arrival remained a secret from Jackson’s cousins. His thoughts quickly flitted back to Alpha Evans and he briefly wondered if anyone had found him. Quickly tossing that thought aside, he slipped out of his car and faded into the forest. Staying in the shadows, he kept a watchful eye as he made his way there. It wasn’t the first time he’d acted without a detailed plan, but this time he began to feel uneasy.
Shaking it off as he reached the edge of the clearing, Josiah squatted down behind a large tree, peering through the thick brush surrounding it. His eyes searched the clearing for any sign of Hope, but finding nothing, he turned his attention to the building itself. After looking it over, he frowned when he realized it was empty. For a split second, the thought that Alpha Evans had double-crossed him entered his mind, but he quickly discarded it because no one had ever been able to withstand his method of interrogation.
Seeking more information, Josiah stealthily made his way around to the back of the house under cover of the edge of the forest nestled against it. When he reached one of the windows, he waited a minute and listened—just to make sure no one was inside. Then peeking in, he saw a bedroom dresser and neatly made bed, both covered with a heavy layer of dust. It was obvious no one had been in there for some time.
Feeling more confident, Josiah quickly circled the house, looking into the rest of the windows, finding further proof that his initial impression had been correct. Returning to the front of the cabin, he searched for clues, hoping to find one that might tell him where Hope was. Spying the edge of a roof poking through the trees, he headed for it and found it belonged to a garage. Squinting through a grime-covered side window, he never heard the soft footsteps coming up behind him, but a click and the pressure of a gun barrel against his spine, made him freeze.
“Put your hands up where I can see ‘em,” a grizzly voice ordered.
Slowly raising his hands, Josiah inhaled quietly, scenting the man. Knowing he wasn’t a threat, he relaxed before saying, “I’m looking for my nephews…do you know where they are?”
“Oh yeah? And who might they be?”
“Hunter Evans and his brothers,” Josiah answered. “I didn’t tell them I was coming, but I guess that was a mistake; it appears no one’s home.”
“Where’s you from?”
“California. Do you know where they went? I was hoping to visit before I headed back there.”
Chuckling, the man lowered his gun before saying, “Sure do…they’re in California visitin’ their cousins.”
Chapter 18
“Where are you going?” asked Sawyer, following his mate into a service corridor. “We’re supposed to return to the meeting room.”
Stopping abruptly Glenn turned around. Tapping his finger on the side of his nose, said, “I’m trying to track down the explosives.”
“You can smell it?”
“Sure…it’s part of my gift.” Resuming his quest, Glenn continued to sniff for the highest concentration of the explosive odor he could find. “If I’m not mistaken, Zohar had the bomb planted in just the right place.”
“Bomb? Only one? I thought the whole building was wired with explosives.”
“That’s one way,” Glenn muttered, “but…” He paused to sniff his surroundings, before continuing his search.
Sawyer waited for his mate to finish his thought but when he said nothing more, threw up his hands in frustration. “Will you stop doing that?”
“Doing what?” Glenn looked over his shoulder at Sawyer.
“Not finishing a fucking sentence. You just stop and you leave me hanging.”
Frowning slightly, Glenn thought about it, then chuckled. “Sorry…just a habit of mine when I’m thinking.”
