Mikhail gave Jayson an uneasy look but lowered his gun. Beside him, Dylan and Olek did the same.
“I’m glad you guys finally got here,” Jayson said. “Did Kendra fill you in on our plan to hit Zolnerov’s place?”
The wolf shifter exchanged confused looks with Danica, then turned his gaze back to them. They looked at Jayson like he was speaking a foreign language.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Clayne demanded. “Were you two going to hit Zolnerov’s place on your own with three kids for backup?”
All three teens opened their mouths to say something, but Clayne cut them off with a growl and a glare that made them take a step back.
“Wait a minute,” Clayne said to Jayson. “Before you answer that, how did you guys even know Kojot was here? Danica and I were too busy trying to keep up with him to ever get a chance to call the DCO and tell them the piece of shit was on his way to the Ukraine.”
Layla’s jaw dropped. “Kojot is here? Right here—in Zolnerov’s house?”
Clayne looked so exasperated that Layla thought he might go into full wolf mode. “Yeah. Isn’t that why the two of you—make that the five of you—are here? To take down Kojot and stop Zolnerov from getting the weapons the arms dealer is bringing in?”
“No.” Now Jayson was the one who looked confused. “We’re here to rescue Anya and the other girls. Didn’t Kendra tell you guys anything?”
“Who the hell is Anya?” Clayne asked.
Jayson—who looked like he was on the edge of losing it too—started to answer, but Layla interrupted. “Look, we don’t have time for this. But if the two of you insist on talking it out, maybe we should pull back into the woods a little in case one of Zolnerov’s guards comes this way?”
“Agreed,” Danica said, taking Clayne’s hand and pulling him back into the forest.
Layla did the same with Jayson, leaving Dylan and the other two teens to follow. Once they’d gone a few dozen yards into the woods, they all stopped. Jayson immediately began to explain who Anya was and why they were breaking into Zolnerov’s estate to get her, but Clayne stopped him before he could get very far.
“Hold on,” Clayne said. “You and Powell came here to rescue Dylan, but now you and Layla are rescuing Dylan’s girlfriend. Why the hell would John send you here with a jackass like Powell, and where the hell is that walking asshat of a so-called DCO agent now that the shit is about to hit the fan?”
Jayson looked at Layla as if to say,You wanna help me out with this?
Layla quickly brought them up to speed.
“How did you get involved?” Danica asked.
“I was worried about Jayson, so I convinced Kendra to send me here to help,” Layla said. “John doesn’t know, of course, and will probably have a cow when he finds out.”
She paused, trying to see if she’d left anything out, then decided she’d hit most of the high points. “So now we’re going in to get Anya and the other girls Zolnerov kidnapped. We don’t know what he wants with them, other than the typical creepy reasons why a man like Zolnerov would hold a group of teenaged girls captive.”
Layla braced herself for another barrage of questions, especially about the hybrid drug Jayson had taken. As much as she didn’t want to get into that in front of Dylan and his friends, she was going to have to tell Clayne and Danica enough to satisfy them. Maybe she and Jayson could talk around the subject and still get the critical details across.
“So, Powell’s dead, huh?” Clayne said conversationally. “Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.”
“Clayne,” Danica rebuked sharply.
Layla knew how she felt. It was like men had no filter at all between their heads and their mouths.
“What?” the wolf shifter growled. “The guy was a total dickweed. The only reason no one capped him before now is because he was usually smart enough to keep his ass out of the field. Serves him right for trying to off Jayson.”
Danica just shook her head. “I think we can help you fill in the blanks on why Zolnerov kidnapped Anya and the other girls.”
“You can?” Dylan stepped closer. “Why?”
“They’re payment,” Clayne said.
Layla got a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.
“Payment for what?” Dylan asked.
“For the weapons Kojot is giving him,” Clayne said, then added, “Kojot will take just about anything as payment as long as it’s valuable. In this case, it seems he’s okay with taking those girls.”
