“Gage also mentioned TSA thinks those other two hired killers have both fled the country. They found the owner of a small single-engine Cessna who confirms taking two guys who match their description across the border to Monterrey hours after the shooting at the mall. They booked the trip a few days in advance, so the pilot didn’t even think about it until the cops showed up to talk to him. The reason he remembered them at all was because there was supposed to be a third guy, but he was a no-show.”
“That definitely sounds like them,” Knox said. “Those guys were hired to come in specifically for this hit and they would have had an evac plan in place before they agreed to the job. They were getting the hell out of here whether they succeeded or not.”
“That doesn’t mean Marshall didn’t hire other assassins as part of a backup plan,” Rachel said. “As long as this trial continues to go badly for him, we have to assume Marshall will keep trying.”
“No doubt,” he replied. “Anything else interesting?”
“Depends.”
“On what?”
“On whether you’re interested in a job that involves you actually acting like a werewolf.”
Well, that was cryptic. “What kind of job?”
“There’s a federal agency known as the Special Threat Assessment Team—aka STAT—that knows about werewolves,” she explained. “After some of their agents helped us out with the vampires in LA, they realized how beneficial it could be to have people with our talents on their team. They’ve asked my commander if he could suggest a few possible candidates. Since you were a SEAL, he thought you might be interested.”
Knox wasn’t sure what stunned him more—that the federal government knew about werewolves or that the SWAT team commander knew about his military background. What else had Rachel told her pack about him?
“And how exactly did your sergeant find out I used to be a SEAL?”
Rachel’s oh-so-kissable lips curved. “He had background checks done on every member of DAPS the day he found out my pack mates and I would be working hand in hand with them. He was impressed with you and not simply because you’re one of us. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said about all the people in your organization. I don’t know if you know this, but there are some real dirtbags in that company.”
Yeah, he knew. Theo liked to hire prior military, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t picked up a few bottom-feeders. Even in his short time working there, Knox had already figured that out. But ultimately, he didn’t work in human resources and currently had other things to worry about.
“Aren’t you the one who said you couldn’t tell your family you’re a werewolf because you were concerned about how the world would handle knowing our secret if it got out?” he said. “Isn’t that kind of a moot point now that the feds know?”
She regarding him thoughtfully. “Having people in the government know about us isn’t something any of us wanted, but they know, so there’s nothing we can do about it. We have to trust that the few people who have the knowledge won’t abuse it.”
Knox wasn’t sure if he liked the idea of trusting the government with such sensitive information. They tended to have a way of screwing things up. But like Rachel said, what could they do?
“Is anyone in your pack considering the offer from STAT?” he asked, really only worried about one particular member of the DPD SWAT team leaving for a new job—her.
She shook her head. “No. Being in a pack means we don’t walk away from each other. Gage has only been asking alphas who aren’t in a pack if they’d be interested.”
While Knox understood the concept of approaching werewolves who weren’t already in the pack, he couldn’t help picking up on the unspoken part of that statement—that Rachel was part of something she’d never walk away from. Something a former hunter like him could never be part of.
Rachel scanned the school gym again, taking in the collection of red, pink, and gold balloons, fresh roses on each table, and dozens of kids on the dance floor moving to the rock beat before looking back at him. “Is a job like that something you’d consider? The pay they’re offering is good and you’d get to travel a lot.”
He hesitated, trying to figure out why she was asking. Did she want to get rid of him that badly? “Do you think I should consider it?”
Rachel opened her mouth to answer, but something across the room caught her attention and she closed it again. Knox turned to track her line of sight and saw Ben standing on the far side of the gym. He was holding up the wall and trying hard not to look like he was staring at Addy and Aaron. While Aaron was currently standing on the dance floor near his girlfriend, the punk spent more time talking to his other too-cool-for-school friends hanging around them than paying attention to Addy, much less dancing with her.
“That is just sad,” Rachel said. “I hope Addy realizes what a big mistake she’s making before it’s too late.”
Knox was pretty sure the girl wouldn’t figure it out. He’d been at the Lloyds’ when Ben had shown up, wrist corsage in hand. The kid might be firmly in the dreaded friend zone, but that didn’t keep him from trying to get out of it. While Addy loved the corsage and immediately put it on, then thanked him with a hug, she was clueless about how much the kid liked her. She also didn’t notice that when she met up with Aaron at the dance, the bozo didn’t have a corsage or any other gift for her.
Since then, Knox had spent the past thirty minutes keeping an eye on Addy and her date. Knox hadn’t talked to Aaron yet, but he’d already decided he didn’t like him. Addy was too good for the jerk, but apparently she didn’t know that yet.
Knox and Rachel wandered around the perimeter of the dance floor, past the refreshment tables full of punch, sodas, chips, cake, cookies, and nachos, then the crowds of kids too nervous to dance, and finally the other adults there to perform their chaperone duties.
“Man, this brings back memories,” Rachel said when they came to a halt on the other side of the dance floor.
“Let me guess,” Knox said, knowing the answer to the question before he even asked. “You’re one of those bizarre people who actually enjoyed high school, right?”
Rachel grinned. “Heck yeah. I loved it. Didn’t you?”
He let out a short laugh. “That would be a no. We moved between my sophomore and junior year, and I never felt like I fit in at either high school. Your dad’s military. Didn’t you have that same problem?”
