Slate’s head swiveled at the sound of splintering wood followed by a young woman’s voice shouting, “Stop! You can’t do that.”
Babe, the cavalry has arrived!
What?Dakota’s eyes grew big as he watched a dozen High Council enforcers swarm into the room, stopping near Brenda.
“High Priestess?” the head enforcer asked.
Standing, Brenda looked down her nose at the man. “How dare you break into my private quarters! The High Council will hear of this and you will pay for that door!”
“Are you the one who calls herself the High Priestess of the Convent of the Sisters of the Four Gods?” the man asked.
“I am, and by what right do you have to…”
“Take her,” the head enforcer ordered.
His men rushed forward, placing shift-proof cuffs on Brenda’s wrists and ankles as she struggled with them.
“You can’t do this,” cried Brenda, trying to get out of her restraints.
“You are under arrest by orders of the High Council,” the head enforcer said.
“For what?” Brenda shrieked.
“The charges include fraud, false imprisonment, kidnapping, and murder. Men, take her out,” the head enforcer ordered.
“Thanks for getting here so quickly,” Slate said, smirking at Brenda as she was marched out of the room.
“No thanks are necessary,” the head enforcer said. “This is our job. The rest of my men are taking the other women here in for questioning and I’d expect the prosecutors will also want to talk to you.”
Slate handed the head enforcer his business card. “They can reach me and my mate at that number.”
“Thank you. I’ll let them know. In the meantime, you are free to go,” replied the man.
“Are you going to search the convent?” asked Dakota.
“Not tonight, but it’ll be secured to keep anyone from getting in. Why do you ask?”
“No reason. Just wondered what happens next,” said Dakota.
“Babe, let’s go. Our car is waiting to take us back to Gio’s,” Slate said. Ushering his mate out of Brenda’s private quarters, Slate led him outside to the waiting car. When they had left the convent grounds, he used their mind link to ask Dakota,Babe, why did you want to know if they were going to search?
I picked up thoughts from Brenda about a man locked up in the convent’s dungeon. If they aren’t going to search the place, nobody’ll find him and he’ll…
Starve to death. We need to go back and alert them about him.
No, the man has some connection with David. We have to get him out.
Slate then sent a text to Logan. When the reply came, he showed it to Dakota. “Good thing you caught that.”
~/~/~/~/~
Drawing comfort from his mate’s scent, David watched as Ian and Colton treated his mother. Thirty minutes had passed with no change; his mother hadn’t moved, lying on the bed just as still as when they found her. Remembering the beatings he endured made him shudder, as fear rose in his gut about his mother having received the same treatment.
As Zane scented David’s fear, he wrapped his arms around his mate, pulling him close to him. “Your mother will be all right, babe,” he murmured.
Before he could reply, Ian approached them. David’s body stiffened, bracing for the bad news he was sure he’d hear.
“David, your mother has been drugged with a sedative which is why she hasn’t awakened. The IV will help dilute the drug in her system so it’s now a waiting game. Other than that, she seems to be malnourished and dehydrated…the fluids will also help that too…but she doesn’t have any broken bones or any internal injuries as far as I can determine.”
