“No…he’s gonna attack without him.”
“You’re all right with that?” Hans asked, incredulously.
“Fuck, no,” Seth murmured, “but for now, just follow my lead, okay?”
“Yeah, okay. What are you gonna to do?”
“Not now, Hans, not when Rudy has spies all over the place. Just stay close to me.”
“Okay.”
Stopping in front of the men, Seth called out the names in the order Rudy wanted, having them form a single line and then led them over to the edge of the woods that bordered Silver Point Pack land. It took some effort, but eventually he had them in formation.
After passing Rudy’s last minute instructions to the men, Seth gave the signal and watched as they started to walk through the woods. He thought Rudy’s plan was flawed because each of them was exposed and could easily be shot, but Seth knew better than to voice objections to someone who had always shown so little regard for his enforcers. And it was why he hadn’t bothered to argue with his boss about the need for him and Hans to find Bruno. Rudy would never understand that kind of loyalty.
But Bruno was different and he was the only one Seth and Hans gave their loyalty to. They owed Bruno a lot for rescuing them after they’d been sold by their parents into virtual slavery on a hemp farm where they were made to toil ruthlessly for hours every day and had to endure frequent beatings. Finally, unable to take it anymore after one brutal whipping, Seth made plans forthem to leave, but Hans became ill. Refusing to leave his brother behind, Seth abandoned his plans, and decided to stay until Hans was better.
It took over a month for Hans to recover and during that time, Seth was forced to do the work of two men which exhausted him. One night, badly beaten, and unable to walk, he could only manage to crawl from the fields at the end of the day. When his irate owner began to beat him with a baseball bat, Seth knew it would be a miracle if he survived. Collapsing, he curled up in a fetal position, covered his head with his arms and waited for death.
But a savior suddenly appeared, grabbed the bat and used it to kill Seth’s torturer. Then a pair of strong arms picked him up and assured him he was safe. The next few weeks were spent at a campsite, deep in the woods, where all he remembered was a haze of voices, broken up by hours of blackness. When he finally healed, Hans explained what had happened and introduced him to Bruno—the man who’d saved his life.
One day, while out hunting for food, Bruno met a shifter on the way to a pack advertising for enforcers. After getting more information from him about the job, he returned to their campsite and, after telling the two brothers about it, they all decided to head for the Silver Point Pack where they were hired.
Since then, more times than he could count, Seth thanked the Fates for sending Bruno to them because his life had become better than he ever thought it could be. Bruno, who’d once worked as an enforcer for a different pack, taught them everything about the business and, while it didn’t bother Seth to give someone an occasional beating, Hans hated that part ofthe job. But they had a home, food, and best of all, Bruno at their side.
Marching through the undergrowth, Seth waited until the forest grew thick, making it impossible for Rudy to see anyone except those closest to him. Stopping, he told the man next to him to keep moving, that he had to take a piss and would catch up with him. Once the man was out of sight, he looked to his right and smiled at his brother who was waiting for him. Grabbing Hans’ hand he said, “C’mon, we’re gonna go find Bruno.”
“What about Rudy?”
“Fuck him! This is his fuckin’ fight, not ours.” Retracing their steps, it took only ten minutes before he and his brother emerged from the woods. Heading over to a truck, Seth pulled the keys from his pocket, and pressed the button to open both doors. “Get in and enter the address I sent you into your GPS.”
After inputting the information, Hans said, “We’re about two hours away from there.”
Nodding, Seth drove slowly over the ruts in the dirt road until he reached the highway. “Which way?”
“South.”
Turning onto the paved road, Seth pressed down on the accelerator, ignoring the speed limit, a risk he had to take since his wolf was agitated and urged him to hurry. Slowed by traffic after reaching the city, they nonetheless arrived at the address in less than an hour and a half.
Turning off the engine after finding a parking spot, Seth glanced at his brother who had grabbed the door handle and was about to get out. “Wait, little brother.” After carefully surveyed the buildings lining the streets hepointed to one, and said, “That’s the one Bruno would’ve chosen.”
Hans looked at it and asked, “How can you be sure? There’s nothing that stands out.”
“That’s exactly why he picked it,” Seth muttered. “C’mon, he’ll be on the roof.” Then he led Hans into the alley next to the building.
“He was here,” Hans whispered. “Can you smell him?”
“Yeah…look, he went in here,” Seth responded, grabbing the broken doorknob. Once inside, he sniffed, picking up Bruno’s recent scent along with… “Oh fuck…c’mon…Yuri’s here.”
Following his brother up the stairs, Hans picked up the faint scent of blood, causing his stomach to glitch. He couldn’t be certain it was Bruno’s but it wasn’t a good sign.
Reaching the top of the staircase, Seth held out his arm to stop his brother from opening the door leading to the roof. “You stay here until I make sure Yuri isn’t around.” Then he pushed open the door, but before his eyes could adjust to the darkness, Hans rushed past him toward two men lying on the roof.
Scenting Bruno’s blood, Hans ran to his friend. Kneeling down next to the deathly pale man, he grabbed Bruno’s hand, begging him to open his eyes.
Joining his brother, Seth pressed his fingers against Bruno’s neck, searching for a pulse. It took a moment but he finally found a faint one. Glancing at Hans, he said, “He’s alive…help me lift him…we gotta get him to a doctor…fast!”
Chapter 40
