“Not yet.” Becker’s voice was rueful. “I’m still working on it.”
“Or we could talk to someone who obviously knows all about the hunters and see what he’s willing to tell us,” Gage said, his voice low and menacing.
Selena followed Gage’s gaze to the older man still talking with Max and Lana. Besides the werewolves from the Pack, a few other wedding guests were still in the tent as well, along with the caterers, who were currently cleaning up the place. A moment later, the older man started toward the exit.
“That’s Curtis?” Selena asked.
“Yes,” Jayden said, giving her hand a squeeze before releasing it and falling into step beside Gage as his boss headed across the tent.
Selena hurried to catch up with him. Jayden didn’t slow as he caught her hand and tugged her protectively behind him. Zane slipped ahead of her, so that they were both shielding her. She knew Jayden was doing it because he cared about her, but her werewolf side didn’t like it. He was her mate, and she had a crazy urge to be the one protecting him, even though he was obviously much stronger and a more experienced fighter than she’d ever be.
Max and Lana met them halfway, their faces tense.
“Curtis is the one I heard over the telephone talking to the hunter during the attack at the clinic,” Lana said quickly. “I’m sure of it.”
Gage nodded, not bothering to tell her they already knew that, and continued after the man. “Chief Curtis.”
The man stopped and turned, his eyes narrowing at Gage and the rest of them. “What can I help you with, Sergeant Dixon?” He glanced down at his watch before locking eyes with the SWAT team leader. “I was just leaving.”
“We know you helped those men break out of Coffield,” Gage said.
Curtis’s heart sped up, but his expression never changed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I had nothing to do with those men escaping custody.”
Selena’s instincts told her the man was lying his ass off.
“Really?” Gage said. “That’s funny, because the marshals already have phone and email records from your four buddies. You know, those former cops who used to work for you in the North Central Division? You should have hired people smart enough to not mention your name over and over online.”
Curtis regarded them thoughtfully. “If that’s true, why are you the one talking to me instead of the marshals?”
“We wanted to ask you a few questions first,” Jayden said. “Who knows? Maybe we can put in a good word for you with the marshals.”
“And what could I possibly tell you?” Curtis asked.
“The name of the man in charge of the hunters,” Gage told him.
Selena expected him to deny it like he had the previous accusation, but Curtis snorted. “Now why the hell would I ever tell you that?”
“Because after we bite you and turn you into one of us, you’re going to need our protection when they come after you,” Jayden growled.
Selena knew the threat was an empty one. Jayden had told her a bite from a werewolf wouldn’t do anything except hurt. You’d never know that from the threat of violence in Jayden’s voice, though.
Curtis laughed, not even a little bit frightened. “Thanks, but no thanks. I don’t want to be one of you mangy mutts.”
Pulling a pistol out of his jacket, he pointed it at Jayden and squeezed the trigger before any of them could so much as blink.
Selena opened her mouth to scream when an explosion from outside shook the tent. A split second later, a man in a caterer uniform stepped into the open doorway of the tent with an automatic rifle and started shooting.
* * *
Brooks knew he’d been hit with a poison bullet before he even stumbled back. The odor of the synthetic wolfsbane was impossible to miss. Ignoring the pain he knew was coming, he twisted himself around to protect Selena.
Everything went insane as he grabbed her, automatic weapons fire coming from all around them as another explosion rocked the compound. The softer pop of pistol fire immediately followed. Brooks had no idea who was shooting at whom when another round slammed into the back of his thigh as he dragged Selena down to the ground and shielded her body.
A voice in the back of his head noted that while the hunters’ bullets definitely burned like hell, the pain wasn’t nearly as excruciating as it should have been. It also wasn’t getting worse like it had with Zane. Dr. Saunders’s vaccine must be working. That was a relief.
Instinct demanded he grab the small frame .40 caliber he had strapped to his right ankle, find out who was shooting at them, and kill those people. But he couldn’t. While the synthetic wolfsbane in the bullets wouldn’t kill him or any other werewolf there, Selena hadn’t gotten the vaccine yet. He couldn’t leave her unprotected and risk her getting hit. He heard her growling under him, her heart thumping in near panic as she tried to work herself free. He held onto her more tightly. He needed to protect her from the omega inside her just as much as from the hunters.
Zane suddenly appeared, crouching at his side. “Let me have her. The hunters think you’re the alpha of the Pack, which means you’re putting her in more danger. I can’t fight them, but I can protect her.”
