Page 52 of Dual Nature

The other two looked at each other and followed, leaving me one last chance to decide if I was going through with this or not. If I went back to my mates and explained everything, would it make any difference? Tabitha had already told me that Zander's mother would have no say in the matter, meaning Zander would have even less power despite being my mate. What would they do if they found out I was an elf? No, better to save that card for the last resort because I didn't plan on letting this next target get away.

Tabitha led us to a blacked-out Hummer, and I climbed into the back where I found a backpack filled with everything I would need. My favorite bodysuit, knives, guns, and my go-to poisons, stored in syringes and ready for use. That showed me that Miranda and Tabitha had no doubts of my loyalty to the Organization or my ability to complete this assignment. Tabitha drove us to a small airstrip that looked like it was used for the forest rangers, and a twin jet plane big enough to fit the four of us was waiting. Well, that explained why Blakely was here, considering he was a pilot, but I still couldn't decide what the other woman was up to. She didn't sound at all pleased to be working with a super. Or maybe it had just been Peggy; she did seem to have that effect on people.

Knowing that it would be go-time as soon as we landed, I leaned against the window and tried to get as much sleep as I could. I took this time to drown out all the noise and emotions my conscience and wolf were throwing at me. There was nothing I could do at this point. I'd made my choice, so I needed to see it through to the end, putting this all behind me for good. Images of my mates’ faces appeared, but I gathered them all up and locked them away in my mind so that I wouldn't be distracted by them. All the lessons and meditation work that we did through training came to the forefront of my mind. I was no longer Finley the omega. No, I needed to be Foxtrot-seven-nine-five, one of the Organization’s top assassins. By the time we landed, the dawn light starting to peek over the horizon, I knew that I was ready for whatever was going to come my way.

Shouldering my backpack, I noticed the sign on the airport said we were in the lower part of Florida. An SUV was waiting for us, and Tabitha climbed into the driver's seat, taking us to our next destination. We pulled up to a small house in the middle of swamp lands away from prying eyes. I say house, but really it was a shack that looked like it was falling apart from the outside. The inside was a whole different story. It was stocked with canned and dried rations, a secure satellite hookup for us to work from, and enough cots for six people. I could tell right away that this was not an Organization safe house; this must be something the Senate had provided for us. The Organization wouldn’t have a safe house this high-tech or large since we never worked in a team larger than two people.

"Take a seat. We have a lot to cover before we make our hit tonight," Tabitha stated as she set up her laptop.

As I sat, I was able to take in the two other people I was being forced to work with. Blakely was a mature man in his late forties, early fifties, with salt and pepper hair, dark brown eyes, and a muscular frame. By the crew-cut and his posture, my guess was that he was ex-military. The woman was harder to gauge, but she was roughly around my age, probably older by the wrinkles around her eyes and the weathering of the skin on the back of her hands. Her thick black hair was in a tight bun at the back of her head, and she wore black fatigues like Blakely did, making me think military, but I could be wrong. The air that she had around her implied intelligence, like CIA or FBI, trained but not one to be out in the field.

"Vicky, inform Finley who her target is," Tabitha ordered as she continued to set things up.

Vicky frowned at the order, but when Tabitha all but ignored her, she turned to me. "Your job is to take out Rupert Sutton, the billionaire who owns one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the States. Mr. Sutton is also a member of the Dark Ring, a much more substantial member than Delilah was. He’ll be leaving tomorrow night to host an auction for kidnapped supers of all kinds. The plan is for you to persuade Mr. Sutton into telling us where they are being kept so we might free them before ending his miserable life."

"Easy enough," I answered, turning to Tabitha. "Why the extra people?"

"As I said, you’ve lost the trust of the Senate and the Organization with your failure," Tabitha answered bluntly. "They’re here to ensure that things go according to plan... or to bring back your head if it doesn't."

How comforting.

"Where is the target located?" I asked, moving on.

"Mr. Sutton has a home in Palm Beach. It’s a large estate with lots of space to hide supers. Blakely is going to get you close by boat, but you'll have to swim the rest of the way." Tabitha turned to Vicky next. "What's the status with security?"

Vicky grabbed the laptop and quickly pulled up the blueprints of the house. "We strongly believe that the supers might be in his own home with how advanced his security is. I'm sure it's nothing that you can't handle, but it will be a lot of perfectly timed movements since I can only bring down certain parts at a time. There was already a planted notice stating that the security company was doing upgrades. That way, we can account for any potential bugs in the security features throughout the night. According to information from the city permits office, Mr. Sutton paid off one of them to get an addition put on his house under the pool. He was persuaded to give me the plans, and it would be the perfect spot to keep supers locked up. It's reinforced steel with three feet of concrete, making it impossible to dig into or out of the space. It also helps keep any noise to a minimum."

"Alright, do you have the steps laid out for me?" I inquired as I studied the floor plan intently.

"You'll have an earpiece that will allow me to keep you on track, but here’s the rough outline of what you're going to do," Vicky shared, flipping to a new tab with a detailed outline of the event.

We all worked on perfecting this for the rest of the day. I tried to stay as focused as I could, but in the back of my brain my wolf gnawed at me with worry. Why would they seek me out specifically? I mean, I knew the first job was botched, but the Senate was fully aware that I was an omega and no longer with the Organization—so why me? What was even stranger was that the Senate had sent their own people on top of Tabitha being in charge. This whole thing didn’t sit right with me, but I knew I didn’t have the option to say no. That choice had disappeared once I left the pack lands.

Tabitha was a harsh taskmaster, so my only break was for a quick meal before I was put through the paces again and again until I could do it with my eyes closed. I understood why this was such a major play for the Senate because if I fucked this up again, it would show their hand in going after the Dark Ring. Two members in a matter of a week... Supers freed to tell their story to others... It would be their worst nightmare, forcing the Dark Ring out of the shadows.

I was too tense to eat dinner, and I could almost feel Mason glaring at me for not eating enough. He'd been the one to personally take on getting some extra meat on my bones. That simple lapse in judgment, thinking about my mates, almost undid all the work I’d put into locking them away for the time being. Once this job was done, I could prove myself and return to my budding family to grovel at their feet for leaving them like I did. There was no way they weren't freaking out or fighting over the situation, especially after finding out the whole thing had been a false alarm. Taking a deep breath, I looked out the foggy window of our shack and locked them away once more. I had a job to do.

thirty-three

I hated to send Finley into the tunnels without me, but I needed to help all the others. My pack was important, but I was finding out firsthand how clearly Finley was my priority. I started with the houses further away from the pack house, making sure everyone was out and accounted for. As a team, the five of us had developed this protocol for moments such as this when chaos reigned and no one knew who the enemy might be.

"Abby! Abby, where are you?" a frantic voice called out.

Rounding the house I'd just finished searching, I spotted Candice looking around wildly, calling for her daughter. "Candice!" I snapped.

Hearing me, she spun around and sagged with relief, grabbing my arm in desperation. "Beta Elias, I can't find Abby. She ran after her father before I could stop her."

"Go to the pack house! We’re herding everyone to the tunnels. If she got lost in the mix, that's where she'll be. I still have more houses to check, and if I find her, I'll bring her right over," I promised as I guided her in the direction she needed to go.

"What if she's not there?!"

"Candice, we will do everything we can to get your daughter back to you. For now, I need you to do your part and be there to greet her," I explained, frustrated that she wasn't doing as I’d asked.

Begrudgingly, she let go of me. "Please find her."

"If she's missing, we will," I answered, cutting her off to send her on her way.

The pack thought me cold and heartless, and to be honest, I encouraged that. The farther removed I could be from the situation, the more rationally I could act. It was odd, or at least some sign of fate, that the woman I was meant to mate understood this on a level that no one else ever had.