“Killed himself! How?”
“Poison. Ian and Colton tried to save him but there wasn’t anything they could do. And Colton couldn’t use his power because the guy was dead by the time they got there.”
“Did David recognize him?”
“Zane told me David doesn’t know anything about the guy.”
“But has David seen him before?”
“I don’t know because I haven’t spoken to David. After they disappeared last night, Zane called me early this morning to tell me he was taking his mate someplace David would feel safe. He also mentioned I should expect more attempts.”
“Where did they go?
“Sorry, Jackson, Zane refused to tell me. Basically, he insisted it was on a need-to-know basis and I didn’t need to know.”
Jackson slumped back in his chair. Zane was now with David alone—gods only knew where—and he still didn’t know if David was evil.Shit! Shit! Shit!“I’ll call you right back.” Hanging up quickly, Jackson dialed Zane’s number. His brother better not ignore a call from his Alpha.
~/~/~/~/~
After making sure David was dressed warmly, Zane found a small backpack tucked away on a closet shelf which he filled with crackers, a jar of peanut butter, beef jerky, bags of chips, a package of cookies and then, tossing in a blanket, he zipped it shut. They were ready to go and as they headed out the door, Zane grabbed the canteen he’d filled and slung it around his neck.
Locking up, he tucked the key in his pocket before taking David’s hand and leading him along the trail that ran through the valley where the house stood. A cloudless sky, pure air, and silence enveloped them. Glancing at David from time to time, Zane grinned at the wonderment he could see in his mate’s face. More gratifying, though, was the sheer happiness he could feel coming from him.
~/~/~/~/~
Groose had been going through David and Zane’s suite for clues when he heard the ringing. Following the sound to the bedroom, he located a phone in the pocket of some pants left on the floor. Adding it to an item he’d found earlier on Antonio’s body, Groose left to hand over his findings to Logan.
“You found that under his skin?” Logan asked, as he rolled the tiny cylinder in his hand. “What is it?”
“My guess…a bio-tracking device,” replied Groose. “I’m betting they know their man is dead.”
“Then they know he failed.”
“Yes, sir. I have already doubled the guards and restricted the access to this floor.”
“Does Dire Enterprises have a division that could analyze this?” asked Logan, holding up the device.
“I believe so, but Slate would have to give the orders for that to occur.”
“Gotcha. Anything else?”
“He had this tattoo on his lower leg,” Groose said, showing the picture he took of it.
“Any idea what it is?”
“Not at all. It’s not one I’m familiar with.”
“Okay, email it to me and Slate.”
“Will do. Also, Zane’s phone was ringing,” Groose said, handing it over to Logan.
“Shit!” Logan exclaimed when he saw who’d called. “Thanks, Groose. We’ll talk later,” he said, as he punched in the caller’s number as Groose left the room.
“Hi, Jackson.”
“Why are you calling from Zane’s phone?”
“Because he left it behind when David poofed both of them out of here.”
