Chapter 42
Dylon looked at the unconscious human securely tied to a chair, wearing a black blindfold. Capturing him had gone to plan: Groose and his men cornered him in the alley behind the hotel, knocked him out and, using the private elevator, brought him up to where Dylon was waiting for him. From this point on, the man’s life was over; when Dylon was through with him, he’d be placed in a cell for interrogation by the High Council about his past employers and what he did for them and if his crimes were heinous enough, be put to death.
Now Dylon was waiting for him to come to so he could begin his questioning. Everything was ready—Dakota sitting in front of his laptop looking calm with Kieran’s hand on his leg, Logan next to his mate, Cody on the sofa, scrolling through recent photos of the twins Jackson sent him—all ready to play their roll in this interrogation so much was riding on. Hearing a moan, his attention snapped back to the man.
Dakota was positive the only thing keeping him from freaking out was Kieran’s hand on his leg. The love and hope being infused into his body was allowing Dakota to do what he never wanted to do again—feel others’ emotions. So here he was not only feeling everyone’s emotions, but also hearing their many voices in the shadows of his mind.
“Concentrate on the voice you want to hear, Dakota, and ignore the rest,” Kieran said, softly.
Startled that someone knew what was going through his mind, Dakota looked at Kieran, who smiled encouragingly at him. Nodding, he concentrated on the voices whispering in his head and began to weed them out until he was able to hear only the human’s thoughts.He started typing them out as Dylon glanced over at his screen from time to time.
Dylon kicked the chair leg, growling, “Stop pretending! I know you’re awake.”
Raising his head and turning from side to side, the man realized his sight wasn’t going to help him so he cocked his head, listening, trying to figure out who had taken him.
“What’s your name?” asked Dylon.
Silence.
“Who hired you?”
Again the room remained quiet.
Dylon wasn’t surprised at his prisoner’s lack of cooperation, in fact he expected it since the human knew his life wouldn’t be worth a plugged nickel if the mercenaries ever found out he talked.Time to shake it up.
“So, Warren, cat’s got your tongue, or should I say ‘wolf’? It doesn’t matter if you don’t talk, Feris and Hook won’t believe you no matter what. Hot damn, boy, I gotta say, you got mixed up with some real bad dudes this time. What happened? Gambling debts? Unpaid loans? C’mon, what was it that made you take this job? You do know they plan to kill you when the job is over, right? That’s what they’ve always done so why would they treat you any different? Oh shit, I bet you didn’t know the survival rate of their accomplices is like…zero.”
Dylon saw Warren squirm and grinned. “Of course, I might just save them the trouble by killing you myself. Yeah, my wolf is eager to hunt and kill and I bet he’d really like the taste of you. How fast can you run? It doesn’t matter since you’ll never outrun my wolf. Whythe fuck did you ever get mixed up with shifters, Warren? Was it because you wanted life to be a little wild?
“Warren, Warren, Warren…do you think those bugs you planted are going to save you? Oh yes, the bugs! I found them but guess what? They are exactly where you put them. That’s right, I left them there but when I’m finished with you, I’ll use them to let your buddies know how you double-crossed them when you sang like a bird to save your own skin.”
The scent of fear hung in the air as Warren pulled at the ropes binding him. Dylon let him struggle, waiting for Warren to realize his only option to escape death was to reveal where Slate was being held. “You can stop struggling because even if you got free, you’re surrounded by wolves…wolves who are all related to the prisoner in Feris and Hook’s custody. The one you’re going to lose your life over unless you tell me where he is.”
Once Dakota did as Kieran suggested, he was amazed how easy it was to focus on Warren’s thoughts as Dylon goaded him. But they had mostly been curses and so far there wasn’t anything Dakota heard that would help them find Slate.
Dylon tried a different approach. “Sorry Warren, you’ve lost your chance to save yourself. My informant just told me where your friends are…Nartley Castle. You can go in a minute once I use those bugs to tell your buddies how you gave up the location.” Dylon glanced at the computer screen and smiled. Just as he expected—when he mentioned the wrong place, Warren thought of the correct place. “Oh shit, I said the wrong name…I meant Daroonga Castle.” The only response from Warren was a squeak.
~/~/~/~/~
Slate lost count of how many times they whipped him but knew he was slowly dying. His blood seeped out in tiny droplets from the many cuts all over his body; his jailors no longer cared where the whip landed. By now, he was numb to the pain. His mind shut down as he drifted in and out of consciousness, giving him some relief. In his moments of lucidity, which were shorter and shorter, Slate thought of Dakota and their unborn pup, fearing what would happen to both when he died. His heart cried out for Dakota and his wolf keened for his mate but since he couldn’t shift, he and his wolf both knew their time on earth was measured by the blood left in his body.
~/~/~/~/~
After Warren was moved to a bedroom where he was gagged and hog-tied, with two enforcers standing guard, Dylon sat at a desk reviewing the information Zane had emailed him about Daroonga Castle. Located in a remote part of the Highlands where few ever went, and abandoned for many years, it was the perfect place to hide Slate. Looking at an old floor plan Zane had dug out, Dylon surmised where Slate was most likely being held, but he needed more information—he needed to see the place. Leaving the desk and walking over to the window, he parted the drapes, peering out at the night sky.Perfect!
Grabbing his phone, he sent a text, then went back to work memorizing everything he could about Slate’s prison, only looking up when the door opened and Logan walked in.
Sitting in the chair next to the desk, Logan waited until Dylon spoke.
“Zane sent me everything he could find on the place where Slate is being held, but before I can commit to a plan of attack, I must go to Daroonga Castle to see whatdefenses are in place and get an idea of how many men are guarding it.”
“You want me to fly you there tonight?”
“Yes. There’s a low cloud cover making it pitch black, so your dragon will be hard to spot from the ground.”
“Kieran must go with us.”
“I have no problem with that, but will Dakota be all right while we’re gone?”
