“But I need to phone my pack and make arrangements for my absence. They’re expecting me back and I don’t want them to worry.”
“Go ahead and call them.” Simon smiled, and it made Isaac’s flesh crawl. “We’ll wait.”
And listen.
Isaac pulled his phone out and dialled Callum’s number. As soon as the call connected, Isaac started speaking. “Hey, I’m going to be staying in London for tonight, maybe longer. Simon McKillan is insisting that I come in for questioning.”
“What do I need to do?” Callum asked, voice steady, and Isaac thanked the Goddess for his beta and his calm under pressure.
“Look after the pack. You’re in charge. And contact the Shifter Council because this is a fucking outrage.”
“That’s enough,” Simon snapped and went to reach for his phone, but Isaac disconnected the call and held it out of reach.
“I’ll hand it over when we get to HRU headquarters, as isprotocol.” He raised an eyebrow, daring Simon to suggest otherwise.
He grunted and scowled, but there were too many witnesses for him to do anything.
Isaac went to put his phone back in his pocket but dropped it on the floor as he walked forwards. He stood on it, hard, crushing it to smithereens beneath his boot to make sure the SIM card was unsalvageable. “I’m so clumsy.” It might make him look guilty in Simon’s eyes, but no way could he let the HRU get their hands on that phone. He was stupid to have brought it with him in the first place.
Simon looked like he wanted to kill him, and Isaac thought for one second that he might, but he snarled at Paul instead. “What the fuck are you waiting for? Get those handcuffs on him and get him to the van.”
“Yes, sir.”
He waited until Paul snapped the iron-silver cuffs around Isaac’s wrists, subduing his strength and ability to shift, then marched back down the corridor and out the door, taking the other two HRU with him.
“Why the fuck did you come back to London?” Paul murmured as he slowly turned Isaac towards the door and started walking. “Itoldyou what Simon was like.”
“There was no other way.”
“I hope it was worth it, because I’ve no fucking idea what he’s going to do with you.”
“Doesn’t he have to follow procedure?” Isaac was banking on the fact that HRU protocol involved a lengthy process where alphas were concerned.
“Normally, yes, but things aren’t happening like they would be. He has contacts on the Shifter Council because a lot of Baker’s decisions are getting overruled.”
“Fuck.”
Don’t panic. Don’t panic.
Isaac dug deep, using every last bit of strength to keep calm and not let any of the sheer terror he felt near the surface. If he showed an ounce of fear or hesitation, Simon would crush him.
And Isaac knew far too much for that to happen.
“Where will he take me?”
Paul shrugged. “If he’s following protocol, he should take you back to McKillan house and put you in one of the secure flats until he has the proper approval to interrogate you.”
“And if he doesn’t follow protocol?”
Paul shook his head. “You don’t want to know.”
* * *
Traffic wasa bitch on the drive back, and Michael spent a fraught thirty minutes stationary, hoping that the hold-up was just volume of traffic and not a spot check looking for them.
It took almost three hours to get back to Mothecombe, and the sheer relief he felt at seeing Isaac’s house was enough to make him laugh out loud. “Thank fuck we’re home.”
Home.
