A Baby Daddy for a Werewolf Silencer (13 page)

Finn tried to look around and find the person or persons
who'd attacked them, but it was easier said than done. The men were retreating,
but that didn't mean Finn was out of danger. He was more than ever aware that
with himself and Andreas here, the house was left unguarded. Shannon's power
could give them an edge, but would it be enough? Damn it.

There was no way around it. They had to go back to the cabin,
even it meant exposing themselves to the silver bullets. Finn's hope had been
to take advantage of the lack of appropriate weapons and handle the threat
before it could reach the others, but obviously that wouldn't happen now.

He woofed lowly at Andreas, and his companion nodded—insofar
as he could in his wolf form, at least. They waited for a few moments, and then
Finn dashed out from behind the rock.

In the process, he drew the attention of their opponents—and
what seemed to be a sniper, now that he thought about it—onto himself. One
silver bullet hit him before he took refuge once again, back in his previous
position and satisfied that the gamble had worked.

Andreas was already gone, bursting through the back door of
the house before the humans—distracted as they'd been by Finn's supposed
attempt to flee—even knew what was going on.

"Clever," a male voice said in front of him.
"But you've just confirmed what I already suspected—that you people aren't
human."

Finn didn't recognize the speaker, which confused and
unsettled him. He was never happy when he didn't know who or what he was
fighting against. It was a big disadvantage, as eloquently proven by his
situation.

The man didn't seem very concerned about facing a paranormal
creature. "You know, I had my doubts when I was told one of you just got
up and walked after being run over by a car. I figured... Well, you know how
incompetent underlings are, always trying to justify their failures. I suppose
I can accept my own mistake here. Maybe I shouldn't have killed him."

"That does sound unfortunate," Andreas said, now
back in his human form. "You seem a reasonable man. What do you want with
us?"

Finn peeked over the edge of the rock and realized with a
great deal of relief that his friend hadn't left the house and was simply
speaking from inside. He could only assume the others were safe, and probably
worried sick about Finn.

"With you, I didn't want anything in particular. You
were just in my way. Of course, that's changed now. I'd love to decorate my
study with a carpet made out of werewolf fur."

"You're insane," Andreas replied. "You have no
idea what you're dealing with."

The man laughed. "Don't I? It seems to me that one man
with silver bullets managed to make two werewolves cower. It's almost
amusing."

Finn really wanted to ask why the guy had brought along a
sniper armed with something like that to begin with, but that would just make
things worse—more so since he'd have to change into his human form to
communicate. He wasn't sure he'd even manage the shift, given that the silver
poisoning was starting to weaken him severely. If he didn't get the bullets
out, the consequences could be serious.

Fortunately, he didn't have to find out. The man suddenly
released a garbled cry, and Finn had the presence of mind to scan his
surroundings just in time to see most everyone collapse in bloody heaps. The
gunshots were barely audible, but Finn's advanced senses caught them
nonetheless. Moon be blessed, he'd never thought he'd be happy to see
silencers.

"What... What did you just do?" the man screeched.

"They did nothing," a smooth voice said. "You
did it to yourself."

As if on cue, Parker burst out of the cabin, followed by
Andreas. Finn came out of his hiding spot and met his mate halfway. Parker
dropped to his knees next to him, hugging Finn's head. "You're hurt. You
promised you'd be safe."

Finn mentally winced and let out a whine, in the hope of providing
at least some measure of comfort to his mate. Since he couldn't speak, he used
their bond to reassure Parker, to let him know that he truly would be fine.

It must have worked, because Parker released him and moved
aside. Andreas stepped in instead. "Let me see. Where are the
bullets?"

Finn complied with Andreas's request, displaying his injuries
as he'd been bid. Most enforcers—like silencers—were trained in removing
bullets, out of simple necessity. Through the nature of their job, they had to
be ready for anything. As such, Andreas knew what he was doing, so Finn let him
poke and prod at the wounds.

It wasn't pleasant, and at some point, Finn must have briefly
succumbed to a dizzy spell caused by the silver poisoning. When he awoke, he
was back in the cabin, in the room he shared with Parker. His mate was curled
by his side, holding his hand.

"We really have to stop meeting like this," Parker
said in a chastising tone.

"Sorry about that," Finn apologized. "How long
was I out?"

"Not long. Half an hour, give or take." Parker's
sedate expression melted into a warm smile. "But you don't have to
apologize. You were right. I knew you'd recover."

Finn cupped Parker's cheek gently and brushed their mouths
together. "I still regret putting you through this."

He couldn't have acted any differently, especially since he
hadn't known silencers would step in to help. Even so, he hated he'd been
forced to strain Parker so much. His mate deserved better.

"Are the silencers gone?" he asked with a sigh.

"Not as far as I know. Their leader insisted on talking
to you, since you're in charge of the pack in Saul's absence."

Finn nodded. He was relieved by the decision, since he wanted
to know what the hell was going on, and who the men attacking them had been.
This wouldn't happen again, not if Finn could help it.

"All right. Let's go."

He slid out of the bed under Parker's watchful gaze.
Thankfully, his werewolf healing had kicked in and the silver poisoning hadn't
been serious. Parker must have realized that because by the time Finn was
dressed and ready for the meeting, the lingering tension in his mate's
shoulders had faded.

The cabin was smallish, so Finn had no trouble tracking down
the silencer leader. The man was in the living room, and Andreas was keeping
him company. Finn instantly recognized him as Baqir, Erdi's former Malik.

"Mr. Simmons," Baqir greeted him with a bland
smile. "It's nice to see you again."

After what Finn had witnessed of Erdi's guild, he couldn't
say he felt the same. Nonetheless, the man had saved his life, and those of his
friends and family. Finn had to at least display some courtesy.

"And you. I appreciate your assistance."

Baqir waved a hand. "We were only doing our jobs. Don't
make the mistake of believing it had anything to do with who you are, and the
most recent member of your pack."

No, Finn would never believe that. In fact, it surprised him
Baqir had even come. Finn had thought most, if not all the members of Erdi's
guild, hated the man. But then again, like Baqir had said, it had been a job
and nothing more.

"Either way, we are thankful. Could you tell us what
these people wanted and how they found out about us?"

"Turns out they were after Gavin," Andreas replied.
"The issue seems connected with Alicia's disappearance. Alicia's ex, Martin
Cook, was involved in some shady business with the some members of the human
underworld. The man who paid us a visit is one of the most preeminent leaders
of a particularly dangerous group."

"See, this is why it's dangerous to get involved with
humans," Baqir pointed out. "We are unavoidably drawn into their
conflicts. This will not go away easily."

Finn grimaced. He didn't want to think about the logistics of
the operation Baqir now had to handle. "But you do have contacts in the
human underworld, correct? They'll assist you with the cover up."

"I said it would be difficult, not impossible."
Baqir got up, pinning Finn with a fierce glance. "My orders don't allow me
to touch your... pack, Mr. Simmons. The Gathering considers you've earned your
freedom, and you aren't immediately at fault for this situation. However, your
humans' connection with their non-paranormal families remains dangerous."

"You can't possibly think of taking out women and
children." Jensen didn't count, since everyone had seen how Erdi looked at
the man.

"The gender and age of each individual are not my
concern," Baqir answered. "They are human, and they endanger our
existence. If anything, the fact that children are involved makes the situation
even more volatile. The younger the humans are, the more likely it is that they
will say something unfortunate. But in any case, it's not my call. The
Gathering has decided to allow an exception in your case. It is strongly
recommended that you absorb the humans in question within your pack."

"That's a significant change in tune," Andreas
offered, his voice thick with doubt.

Baqir shrugged. "Things are changing."

"Does this mean Alicia, Kyle and Jack are safe?"
Finn asked, deciding to focus on the immediate problem, rather than on his own
suspicions regarding the situation.

"They were never at risk, not really. We tracked down
the culprit after my brother called us. It turns out Martin Cook was concerned
about his family and removed them from danger, which is actually what made his
pursuers focus on Mr. Price instead."

In a twisted way, that made sense, although Finn believed
Baqir's assessment of the danger Martin Cook posed was somewhat... flawed. He
didn't bother addressing that, since silencers undoubtedly didn't think the
same way Finn did. There was something else about the explanation niggled at
the back of Finn's mind, something that bothered him. He couldn't quite put his
finger on it, but that didn't stop him from continuing with the same thread of
conversation. "So they're free? Gavin's mother and children?"

"Erdi is handling it." Baqir got up, making it
clear that he had no intention of providing further explanations. "Now,
Mr. Simmons, I advise you and yours to be more careful in the future. There's
no telling when the Gathering's goodwill might expire."

"Wait," Andreas stopped him before he could go.
"The gunner... Why did he have silver bullets?"

Baqir's expression went dark. "That is an issue we are
actively investigating. It seems there are those in the human world who suspect
more than we would like."

"In a way, you owe us for exposing the leak," Finn
offered.

Baqir snorted, and without another word, left the cabin. In
his wake, Finn was left with a lot of questions—such as how the man planned to
deal with the humans who were not easy to dispose off and what exactly these
new suspicions meant for them all. But that didn't matter right now. What
mattered was that his pack had managed to evade this threat, with minimum
damage.

Andreas's silence made him doubt that conclusion. "How's
Jessie?" Finn asked.

"Resting. Will looked him over after I bandaged his arm.
It seems Jessie's going to be fine, but... I'm worried."

Finn squeezed his friend's shoulder. He could have told
Andreas he needed to be strong for his mate, but that was something Andreas
already knew. He could have said he understood how Andreas felt, but that
wouldn't be much help. So instead, he just held on, and provided silent
comfort.

And as he did so, he finally realized what had bothered him
about his conversation with the Malik. Baqir had called Erdi brother.

****

Martin Cook was hiding in a barn in the middle of nowhere.
Erdi had no clue how his brother had managed to track the human down, but he
was more than thankful for the help. Without it, he and Jensen might have taken
far too long to find the bastard.

As it was, he and Jensen reached the location in question
within one hour of his call to Baqir. Now, the two of them stood behind the
barn, watching the agitated human through the gap between the boards. Alicia
and the boys were curled together on a dirty old mattress.

They seemed unharmed, and Alicia was holding both children
close in a protective embrace. "Martin, you need to let us go. You have to
realize the police will find you, and it won't end well."

"I'm doing this for your own good." Martin waved
his gun around, making Alicia wince. "Weren't you always complaining that
I didn't care? Well, I'm trying to keep you safe, fix my mistakes."

Alicia bit her lip and watched the man pace. "And we
appreciate that," she whispered, having obviously decided antagonizing
Martin wasn't very wise. "But the children have school. I have work. We
can't just—"

"We'll go elsewhere once things settle down a bit,"
Martin cut her off. "That useless boy of yours is providing a distraction.
I just have to... We need to cross the border and then we'll be fine."

Erdi had heard enough. The man was obviously a loose cannon
and had no real plans of escape beyond taking his captives as far away from his
pursuers as possible. If he wanted to be perfectly honest, Erdi didn't much
care about his reasoning or ideas. He just had to get Gavin's family out of
Martin's clutches, and then they could leave this entire debacle behind them.

"Stay here," he whispered to Jensen. "It
should be safe, but take cover, just in case he manages to shoot."

Jensen nodded silently. Erdi knew better than to think his
mate would have agreed to this suggestion so readily if not for their suspicion
with regard to Jensen's possible condition. He hated Martin for forcing Erdi to
drag his mate into a dangerous situation. But it couldn't be helped now. Once
he was sure Jensen was safely hidden behind a derelict vehicle that must have
once been a tractor, Erdi went into mission mode.

He couldn't quite shut down his emotions, not like before. A
part of him remained focused on Jensen, but also on the innocents involved and
the faith his Alpha had put into him. Even so, he didn't let these feelings
derail him from his purpose. In fact, he used them, focusing on his target.