Page 49 of The Enforcers: NOAH

Chapter 17

When Noah went back into the living room, the fire was burning in the grate, Flynn had finally put some pants on, and there was a bottle of whiskey in the middle of the coffee table with a crystal tumbler next to it.

Flynn was on one of the deep leather couches, his head tipped back on the headrest, a generous glass of whiskey in his hand.

Noah sat down across from him, and Flynn lifted one callused bare foot and shoved the bottle a couple of inches toward Noah.

He opened it and poured, settling back on the opposite couch. God, he was tired. And everything was a fucked-up mess.

“You know you have to mate that woman and claim her,” Flynn said. “Before she has to join a pack and gets taken by whoever wants her.”

“I know,” Noah said, taking a slug of whiskey and letting it burn his insides. “I kind of have to give her a minute, though. Seeing as our first date ended up with her finding out I’m a wolf and her ex trying to shoot us.”

“Sheeyit,” Flynn said. “I hope you at least got laid first.”

Noah gave a tired snort. “Yeah. But I think that’s just going to make her more pissed off.”

Flynn nodded. “Women are like that.” He took a swallow of whiskey. “So, you taking her back to Silverlake?”

Noah sighed. “It’s probably the best place for her and Brock, but it’s not my pack. I’m not affiliated with anybody right now, so it’s complicated.”

Flynn nodded again. “What’s with the kid?” he asked. “Gave me chills when he called me out as a lion just like that. Freaky.”

“Yeah,” Noah said. “I’m wondering what else he can do. And I’m thinking that whatever his abilities are, they’re the reason Briscoe and his buddies are so anxious to get their hands on him.”

Flynn gave a growl. “They’ll have to go through my whole crew to get to him,” he said. “If you know Jesse Travis, you know where we were when he met us. And you know what they did to us there.”

Noah nodded. He’d seen some of the video footage from the Alexander Grant’s lab, and it made him sick.

Flynn got off the couch and paced the room. “We were all in there too fucking long,” he said. “It did something to us. A few of the ones who escaped with us were too crazy to be let loose. The Council found a couple. I had to put down one myself.”

He shook his head, the pain etched on his face.

“And that was after only six months in there, max. Less for most of us.” He shook his head and walked over to the window, looking out.

“I want you to see something, Wolf Man,” he said.

Noah got up and walked over to join him at the window. He could see the crazy shed, dim light from an electric lantern shining out from it. Tank was still sitting in the doorway, and the white wolf was huddled against the back wall, snarling.

“Tristan was only in there a couple months, but he was brought in by a motherfucking bastard called Frank Beckenham. Before Beckenham got him, Carson—that fucker in the forest with the shotgun—had him for years. I don’t know what the hell all he did to him, but that poor bastard will never be right.”

He stood facing the window, not looking at Noah. “I don’t fucking know how I landed myself with this crew. A few of us stuck together after we got out, and a few more joined us, and before I knew it I was the sort-of alpha of a group of broken fuckups who haven’t pledged to me and don’t fucking do anything I say. But for some reason, I can’t walk away and leave them.”

He put his hand on the window pane, palm out, as if he could touch the two shifters in the shed. Then he turned away and leaned on the windowsill.

“This life sucks,” he said. “I’m trying to piece together broken shifters, trying to keep my own shit together, and hoping like hell I’m not going to have to put anybody else down. But chances are too fucking good I’m not going to get my wish.”

He looked at Noah. With Flynn perched on the windowsill, they were eye to eye.

“There is no way anybody in this crew is going to let what happened to us happen to that little kid, not if we all end up in a bloody pile of bodies. But he and his mom aren’t safe here, long term. Not from Carson and others like him, and not from us. You need to find her a strong pack with a sane alpha and a well-defended territory.”

He looked Noah dead in the eye. “I hope you’re not too stupid to swallow your pride, Wolf Man. Because if there’s a chance Silverlake will take you and your mate and that cub, you need to get down on your fucking knees and lick Jace Monroe’s biker boots if that’s what it takes. You hear me?”

Noah nodded. “Yeah.”

Flynn said, “There’s no cell service here unless you climb a fucking tree. But first thing in the morning, you can take my truck and drive out so you can call Silverlake. We’ll keep the woman and the kid here until they can extract them safely. But make it soon. Deal?”

Noah nodded, his shoulders sagging in relief. It galled him that he couldn’t protect Mina and Brock himself, but last night had shown he couldn’t.