“You want me to leave Cody alone?” Zane asked, frowning.
“No one will see me,” Cody said.
“But what if…”
“Cody will be fine,” Dylon said, “just like at the cab company, I’ll see what he does.”
“Okay,” agreed Zane, reluctantly. Leaving his brother to face danger alone went against everything he was taught growing up in a pack, but Jackson put Dylon in charge, so he’d do as he was told.
“Time to go get Willow,” Dylon said, opening his car door. Joining his mate and Zane on the sidewalk, he headed to the building’s door only to find it locked. Fuck!He had two options wait for someone to leave…or arrive—neither of which appealed to him. Glancing at the rows of buzzers next to the names of residents, he decided to take a gamble, pressing each one until he heard a click. Quickly grabbing the door, he yanked on it, smirking when it opened.
Stepping inside first, followed by Cody and Zane, Dylon sniffed, expecting to find the usual smells of cooking, but there was also an underlying scent. Turning around, he faced them. “Blood…quite a bit of it according to my wolf. What about yours? Can they smell it too?”
Raising his face, Zane sucked in a deep breath. “Mine does…but it’s not very strong. Maybe someone’s cutting up some meat?”
“No, there’s too much for that,” Dylon said. “Babe, what about you?”
“My wolf does, also,” Cody said. “Do you think it belongs to Willow?”
“Maybe, but I doubt it,” Dylon said. “My guess is the Collector has been here, took her and then killed the men who kidnapped her.”
“Shit,” Zane said, “now we’ll have to start over.”
“Yeah, but at least she’s alive,” Cody replied, “and Josiah doesn’t have her.”
“C’mon,” Dylon said, leading them over to the elevator. “At least it won’t take us very long to find the apartment now and there might be something in it that can help us find the Collector.”
~/~/~/~/~
Sitting at a table in the safe house, Glenn frowned as he glanced over the additional information he received after landing.Something isn’t right. He’d been at this job too long not to trust his gut, regardless of how confident the agents were that they’d found his mother.It’s too neat…all the loose ends are tied up in one big, fucking, red bow.His eyes narrowed, sensing it was a trap…but why?Taking his laptop from his bag, Glenn said to the agent hovering at his side, “Go get me a coffee and something to eat.”
“What?” Agent Singer asked, clearly startled by the request.
“You heard me. Go!” Glenn roared, tired of whatever game was being played.
“Uhh…yes, sir,” Singer said before leaving the room.
Glenn looked over at the other agent standing by the door, quickly assessing he was too frightened of Glenn’s tiger to come any closer. Opening his computer, the screen lit up and he clicked on a small icon in the corner of it. Typing in his code, he waited for it to be verified before accessing a list of names and records. Quickly scanning the information, the pieces finally fell into place. Now he knew why Agent Singer was so nervous; his job was on the line. One more complaint, especially from Glenn, and Singer would get kicked out of the agency. He’d bet if they found his mother dead, Singer would make sure Glenn would have a fatal ‘accident’ before he could file his report. Logging out, Glenn put his computer away and then, glancing up at the young agent standing at attention, he growled, “How many men are watching her location now?”
“Ten, sir.”
“Good, tell them to stay put,” Glenn said, his tiger glowing in his eyes while he fought to keep from shifting. “I’ll be back shortly.”
“Yes, sir,” the young agent said, before sending a message. “What about Agent Singer? When he gets back with your food, do you want me to tell him where you’re going to be?”
“No,” Glenn replied, rising and heading for the door. “I want you two to stay here until you hear from me.”
“But…but,” the young agent sputtered. “He’s the lead agent…he always goes…”
Stopping short, Glenn whirled around, coming face to face with the young agent. “That may be…but not this time. I’m his superior and I want him to stay here. Is that understood?”
Nodding vigorously, the young agent took a step back, fear etched on his face. “Yes, sir…I’ll tell him…yes sir…we’ll stay here.”
“Good,” growled Glenn before continuing toward the door. Opening it, he paused, looking back at the young agent. “You be sure to tell Agent Singer, if my orders aren’t followed to the letter, he’ll be looking for a new job.”
Swallowing hard, the young agent nodded, fear silencing his voice.
Closing the door behind him, Glenn descended the four steps to the sidewalk. Looking around, he spied some of Agent Singer’s men surrounding the safe house. Snorting to himself, he turned away from them, walking quickly, letting his tiger guide him as he melted into the crowds until he was sure he’d lost any tail Singer might have ordered.
