“I know.” I lean against the wall, closing my eyes. “Ignore me.”
“Yeah, right.” His huff of laughter makes me smile, the edginess fading. He gestures to Morgan. “The effects might wear off, but there’s a possibility they might not.” When he glances my way, it’s obvious what he’s thinking.
“You want to tell him.”
“I do. It’s only fair.”
“Is it?”
“I think so.”
I do too. But that doesn’t necessarily mean we should do it.
Corey sighs. “If it’s heightened his emotions, altered how he reacts to things, situations, then shouldn’t we make him aware so he can be prepared?” He gestures to Morgan. “Maybe it’ll stop this from happening again.”
It’s that last sentence that sways me. I can’t watch him go through that again, not without the possibility of doing something reckless and stupid. “Fine.” I add another thing to the list of things Morgan’s going to hate me for. “I’ll talk to him when he wakes up.”
I leave Morgan with Corey,and it’s harder than it should be to walk away. Each step grates on my nerves, the wrongness of it burying behind my ribs until I’m scowling. It’s that expression I’m wearing when I meet the others downstairs.
Callum, Mal, and Flint are already seated, and three sets of eyebrows rise as I glare at them in turn.
“Where is he?” Flint asks, an edge to his voice that raises my hackles.
The window is wide open—pretty sure I have Callum to thank for that. Even so, Morgan’s scent clings to the air. I imagine they can all smell the fear laced with it.
“Upstairs with Corey.” I take the chair at the head of the table and sink into it. “He thinks it could be a side effect of Morgan having his blood.”
Silence.
I’m not sure what reaction I was expecting, to be honest. It doesn’t alter anything. I can tell Flint wants to say more, but he bites his lip. Whatever scents I’m giving off, he wisely decides now isn’t the time.
The need to get back upstairs sits under my skin, making me restless. “What news do you have for me?”
Callum leans forward, arms resting on the table. “We’re transferring Tyler tomorrow afternoon. Jet and Mal will escort him to meet with his pack just below Exeter.”
“Good.” The sooner we can get Tyler somewhere safe and away from here, the better. “What about your contact?”
Callum winces. “Security’s been ramped up since the weekend. No details about the next fight ring have been finalised yet.”
I’m not surprised. We’ve hit the last three in consecutive months. They’re bound to be twitchy. “Maybe we need to give the next one a miss. Let things die down. As much as it kills me to say it, I don’t think we’ve got much choice. We can’t jeopardise the safety of our informant.”
Mal curses under his breath, and Flint snarls, but they don’t disagree.
Callum sighs. “Yeah, maybe.”
I go to get up, but Cal stops me.
“That’s not all we wanted to discuss.”
I relax back into my seat and gesture for him to continue, but it’s Mal who speaks.
“Hunters are in town.”
I knew they were in the area, but not here, specifically. “You’re sure?” Not that I doubt him, but—fuck, that’s exactly what I’m doing. “Sorry.” I run a hand through my hair, searching for the focus I need for this. “Today has been... distracting.”
Mal snorts but doesn’t look offended, so I’ll take it.
“What are they up to? And how many?”
