It was a whistle that first penetrated the sexual haze Tristan was in after Heath’s tongue had taken possession of his mouth, but he ignored it, too aroused to stop. Only when the catcalls became insistent, along with a voice asking if they should come back later, did he finally, and reluctantly, pull back. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Remy and a large number of shifters standing in front of him and Heath. Dropping his arms, he took a step back. “Uhm…Remy…this is unexpected.”
Smirking, Remy glanced at Heath before turning his eyes back to Tristan. “Sorry for the interruption. Jackson sent some of his enforcers to help you take down Rudy and his men. He also wants you to know Frank has been found and is safe.”
Surprised, Tristan glanced at the men, spying a face he knew. “Groose, good to see you.”
Tilting his head, Groose said, “You, too, Alpha.”
Turning back to Remy, Tristan said, “Give my thanks to Jackson, please.”
“I will,” Remy said and then, giving Tristan and Heath a knowing smile, he vanished.
Tristan’s cheeks grew rosy with embarrassment and knew he was in for a lot of teasing when he saw Jackson next time. Pushing aside that thought, he said to Groose, “My enforcers and the pack members who volunteered to stay and fight are waiting for me in the community meeting room to go over my plan. Since I didn’t know Jackson was sending you, I’m afraid it doesn’t include you. But we can talk afterward and figure out the best place for you and your men.”
“The Alpha has made it clear we are to follow your orders,” Groose replied.
“I appreciate that, but I also know you have plenty of experience in battle whereas I don’t, so I welcome your input and ideas. My goal is to capture Rudy and his men while ensuring my pack members and enforcers remain safe.”
Titling his head, Groose replied, “It will be our honor to assist you, Alpha.” Then giving a signal to his men, they fell back, creating a pathway for Tristan and Heath. “After you, sir.”
~/~/~/~/~
Bruno had no warning except for the hair rising on the back of his neck that he was no longer alone on the roof. Whoever was now walking toward him, had certainly been well trained in stealth approaches—andhe should know, since it was that kind of training that made him so valuable to Rudy. His military record attested to his excellence; he’d had no casualties in his unit despite the many dangerous missions assigned to him. But now, it looked like his luck was running out.
When Bruno didn’t turn around, Yuri said, “I knew I couldn’t trust that piece of shit.”
Finally taking his eye off the scope, Bruno glanced over his shoulder at the man pointing a gun at him. Quickly sizing up Yuri, he saw the slight shake of his hand holding the weapon and the fear on his face. While the man had been able sneak up on him, Bruno knew Yuri wasn’t trained to be a killer. Quickly sorting through his options, he held his hands up and rolled onto his back, noting that Yuri had lowered his weapon slightly. “What do you want from me?” he asked.
“The money I was promised,” Yuri replied. “I did my part and now I want my payment as Rudy promised.”
Nodding, Bruno said, “I hear you, man. I don’t have it, but I can take you to Rudy…he has it.”
“No…you call him and tell him if I don’t get the money in the next hour, I’m gonna kill you and then send proof of what he did to the Council.”
“Hey…that’s not gonna help you,” Bruno said. “They’ll come after you if you do that.”
“No, they won’t,” Yuri smirked. “I’ve made sure of that.”
“How didja do that?”
“Fuck off…now call him,” Yuri growled.
“Okay…okay. I gotta get my phone,” Bruno said, pointing to his jacket with his right hand.
“Go ahead, but don’t try any funny stuff,” Yuri snapped, waving his gun around.
“I won’t.” Slowly reaching beneath the left side of his jacket, Bruno’s fingers closed around what he sought. Then keeping his movements slow, he removed his hand which now held a Luger, pointed it at Yuri and pulled the trigger. “You fucking piece of shit,” he muttered.
The first bullet hit Yuri in the left arm and it took him a moment to realize what was happening. Crying out in pain, he raised his gun and fired off a shot until Bruno’s next bullet found the center of his forehead, killing him.
It wasn’t the way Rudy may have wanted it done, but in the end it wouldn’t matter, Yuri was dead and no longer a threat to any of them. Sitting up, Bruno looked around to make sure there weren’t any witnesses. Satisfied, he turned back to his rifle and that’s when a wave of dizziness hit him. Grabbing his head, he groaned when a trickle of warm blood ran down between his fingers.The fucker had gotten lucky.
Then everything went black.
Chapter 38
Thanking the truck driver who’d given him a ride, Ollie climbed down from the cab of the semi and headed toward the diner and food his stomach craved after being on the road for a week.
After he’d found his aunt and uncle chained up in the Alpha’s basement, he thought it would take only a few days to get to his cousin, but after standing for hours in the dark at the side of the road with his thumb out as traffic passed him by, he realized it wasn’t going to be that easy. When dawn broke, he was unwilling to risk being seen, so he disappeared into the woods. It was slow going in his human form, but he knew shifting would put him at a disadvantage, especially since it was hunting season.
