Azure (The Silver Series Book 5) (25 page)

I crossed the remaining ground to the leader
quickly, then wrapped an arm around his neck and jabbed my gun into
his ribs. “Call them off,” I warned him in a low growl.

His muscles tensed and I thought for a
moment that he would fight me, then he let out a breath and said,
“Drop your guns.”

“
But Chief,” one of the men
protested; he shut up when he saw that his commander was at
gunpoint. All guns dropped to the ground and Jet collected them
with a gleam of satisfaction in his eyes.

Jaze escorted the other five men from the
room and left Jet to guard them. When he returned, I had the Chief
in a chair with his hands tied behind his back and my gun pointed
casually at his chest.

I felt the seconds tick away before we got
the bullet out of Kaynan's bleeding shoulder. “You should get that
looked at,” I said.

“
It's alright,” the Alpha
replied. He rolled his shoulder and winced. “At least, it's not
going to kill me anytime soon.”

“
But it's probably silver,”
I pointed out. “Is that a risk you're willing to take?”

He gave me an assessing look, his red eyes
calm. “Silver doesn't affect me the way it does the rest of you.
I'll be fine.”

“
Nonetheless,” Jaze said.
“You should put some pressure on the wound so you don't bleed to
death. Dying would really put a damper on our mission, and I don’t
want to explain to Grace that her stubborn boyfriend refused to
take care of himself.”

Kaynan chuckled and accepted a waded up
cloth Gem wordlessly handed him. He turned away to tend to his
wound. I leaned against the desk by the Chief and studied him
carefully.

The man wore a dark blue dress jacket over a
black shirt, matching dark blue pants, and shoes that looked like
they had never been scuffed in their life. His hair was black and
slicked back, and he wore thin glasses that now sat askew on his
nose. He regarded me calmly, though a slight hint of fear mixed
with his bran muffin and aftershave scent. I decided to press my
advantage.

“
We're werewolves,” I began
without preamble. “All of us, and there are more werewolves
and
actual
,” I
stressed the last word, “Hunters on their way. We're looking for
Rob and I know you have information that will lead us to
him.”

The Chief's eyes tightened, but he gave no
effort to answer me. I looked over at Jaze and shrugged. “Looks
like we'll have to bite him.”

“
Bite him?” Jaze's eyebrows
rose, but he played along. “Don't you think that's going a bit
far?”

I smiled a predatory smile. “When he turns
into a werewolf, he’ll have to answer because we’re Alphas.”

The Chief's face had gone pale at the
mention of getting bit. I placed a lot of faith in the lie, but
knowing Rob, he would feed his extremists with as much bunk about
werewolves as he could to make them want to kill us that much
more.

He shook his head. “Don't bite me, please. I
have a family.”

“
It's not that bad,” I
pressed, drawing closer to him. “One bite and you’ll be hunted for
the rest of your life. Your family will never be safe.”

His face paled further and he finally said,
“What do you want to know?”

Jaze met the Chief’s eyes. “We need to know
where we can find Rob.”

The Chief shook his head quickly. “I'll tell
you anything but that, anything at all. It's just, well,
he'll-”

“
He'll kill you if he finds
out you sent a pack of werewolves to attack him?” I
guessed.

He nodded, his watery eyes worried.

I held out a hand. “Where’s your
wallet?”

He hesitated, his eyes flicking from Jaze to
me. I lifted my eyebrows slightly. The Chief nodded at the desk
behind us and I found a brown leather wallet in the top drawer. I
pulled out his driver’s license and checked the address. “Look at
it this way. You can either tell us what we need to know and go
back home to your family,” I gave him an honest smile, “And I
promise if you tell us what we need to know, you and your men will
leave here with your lives, and after we have Rob you won't have to
worry about anyone coming after you.” My gaze darkened. “But if you
don't tell us, I have no choice but to bite or shoot you and your
men because I can't have you running to Rob and telling him we're
on his trail.”

I raised my gun and aimed it at the center
of his forehead. I hoped he didn't notice the point of the dart
protruding from the end. His eyes met mine and I held his gaze. He
finally sighed and nodded. I lowered my gun. “Just remember,” I
said in a tone that left no room for argument. “What you tell us
must be the truth, because if you lie and more innocent werewolves
are hurt at Rob's hand before we have the chance to stop him, then
you're family will always be in danger. I've never lost a trail,
and I will find you.”

He swallowed, then met my serious gaze.
“I'll tell you the truth.” At my nod, he continued, “He’s holed up
in a house in Mancos, Colorado. Go to fourteen-fourteen Old Mill
Road.”

Getting the exact address surprised me. “How
do you know he’s there for sure?”

The Chief gave a chagrined shrug. “The house
belongs to a prominent supporter of the Hunters.”

“
Extremist Hunters,” Kaynan
said.

I untied the Chief’s hands and stepped back.
He rose uneasily to his feet and rubbed his wrists. “I'm free to
go? Just like that?”

I nodded. “We're not vicious killers, no
matter what garbage Rob feeds you.”

“
But let me remind you one
thing,” Jaze said. He took a step toward the Chief and the man
backed a step away. “If you are being honest, and I feel that you
are, you just told us the address of your boss' location. If you
sound an alarm after we leave this facility and tell Rob what
happened, he will undoubtedly kill you and possibly your entire
family for the information you gave.” He glanced at me. “And
there's no doubt in my mind that he will draw out your death so
it's painful and agonizing.”

The Chief's face blanched and he nodded
quickly. “I've been thinking about taking up farming,” he said. I
was surprised to hear that he was being honest. “It would be a good
way to leave this all behind.”

“
An excellent idea,” Jaze
agreed. He held out his hand. The Chief hesitated, then shook it.
He shook mine, too, then we joined Jet at the doorway and left. I
tossed the Chief’s wallet in a garbage can near the front door.
Jaze glanced at me but didn’t say anything. We exited the building
to find Jaze’s Hunters and werewolves swarming the training
facility. It was odd how reassuring I found the small wolf paw
print they wore on their hats and uniforms. Jaze gave his orders to
shut down the facility, then we crossed back to the jeep and left
the Hunter training grounds feeling as though we had truly
accomplished something.

Chapter 22

The address led us to a sweeping house on a
hill in the beautiful Colorado countryside. The hope that I would
soon be reunited with Nora made the crisp night air smell that much
sweeter as we walked softly through the underbrush about a quarter
of a mile from the house. Jaze's Hunters had staked out the place
since we spoke to the Chief, and they reassured us that Rob was
there and apparently unaware of our pending take-over.

“
Senator Braken’s house. I
still can’t believe it,” Kaynan said, peering down the hill at the
well-lit yellow-paneled, white-shuttered sprawling manor amid
bushes, carefully manicured trees, and vast expanses of trimmed
lawns that would make a stealthy approach difficult. To top it off,
cameras swept every angle of the yard, rotating so that their views
intersected and no shadow was left unsurveyed.

“
Makes sense,” Jaze replied
quietly. “He’s always stood in the way of the government helping
werewolves. We should look up several of his supporters and see if
they’re in some way connected with Rob as well. I know a few
agencies that’ll be interested if they’re compromised.”

“
That’s a great idea,”
Kaynan replied, then, “Charlie wasn't kidding when he said the
place was tight.”

Jaze turned to Mouse. “Where's the
electrical access to the house?”

Mouse pointed, his small computer already
out and two cables ready. We followed him to a spot not too far
from the house and hidden in a stand of trees. Kaynan and Jet began
to dig with the small shovels they had brought from the jeep while
Jaze, Gem, and I kept watch. They pulled up the wires and Mouse
clipped his cables to them.

“
Finished,” Mouse said a
second before all of the lights went out, bathing the house in
darkness. “I estimate five minute before they start the
generators.”

“
It'll be enough,” Jaze
replied. “Thanks.”

They shot two guards with tranquilizer darts
at the northeast corner of the house, then we crept around to the
back where a wide deck was guarded by five more guards armed this
time with what appeared to be grenades and submachine guns no doubt
loaded with silver bullets.

“
You got this?” Jaze
whispered.

It took me a minute to realize he was
talking to Gem and me; he, Jet, and Kaynan all had guards lined up
in their sights.

“
Vance, take the second to
last one on the right; Gem, you take the last,” Jaze whispered. He
lifted his gun and we barely had a chance to aim before he
whispered, “Fire.”

I squeezed the trigger gently and saw a dart
bloom from the neck of my guard. All five men fell to the deck with
thumps loud enough that I worried someone would overhear. I glanced
at Gem and she gave me a wide-eyed look, but her hands held her gun
steady. We waited for a moment, but when no one showed up, we
jumped over the deck railing and Jaze slowly opened the sliding
door. He slipped into the dark dining hall and the rest of us
followed. Gem slipped her hand into mine and I led her through the
darkness after Jaze’s team.

My heart gave a leap at Nora's scent
permeating the air, the carpet, and everywhere I turned. The scent
was days old in the dining room, but grew stronger as we went down
the hall. A guard stepped in from a side door and Jet took him down
with a sleeper hold before the man could make a sound. His eyes
gleamed in the darkness and he stalked as gracefully as a hunting
cat from one door to the next, his hands opening and closing into
fists as though he could barely wait for the next attack.

Kaynan followed closely behind to flank Jet
on one side while Jaze took the other. Jet acted as though he led
with his nose instead of his eyes, and when Nora's scent grew
stronger behind a door that led to the basement, he gestured to
make sure I didn't miss it.

“
I'm going after Nora,” I
whispered to Jaze. “You guys find Rob. She won't be safe until he's
out of the picture.”

“
Take Gem and Kaynan,” Jaze
replied, his eyes on the dark hallway. “Mouse will send the alert
when our backup arrives.”

I nodded and Kaynan turned the doorknob
silently. When it refused to budge, he put a bit more pressure
behind it and the locked slipped with a quiet pop. A small red
light started flashing above us.

I looked at Jaze. “The generators must be
on,” he whispered. “They know we're here. We've got to hurry.”

I led the way down the stairs with Gem and
Kaynan close behind. The stairs creaked with each step and the
noise multiplied in my ears until it sounded like we were a
marching band instead of three soft-footed werewolves. Nora's scent
grew stronger and fresher the further we went down. We reached the
bottom to find the basement sectioned into three long rooms. Rob’s
scent was fresh in the air, but so was the soft vanilla and
sunflower aroma that made my heart thump loudly in my chest.

I hurried into the room on the left. It was
dark, but emergency lighting flickered above, playing havoc with my
werewolf eyesight. I peered between rows of boxes and crates and
found a silver cage pushed against the far wall. A form was curled
on the bottom.

My heart slowed and I took a careful step
forward; my soul screamed for me to run to her and make sure she
was alright. My mind argued back that Rob had killed her because of
our relationship. A board creaked under my foot and the form
stirred. My heart began to beat again.

“
Nora?”

“
Vance?” She sat up and
peered through the darkness. “Vance, it's a trap,” she said, horror
thick in her voice.

I ran to the cage and pulled the door off in
one quick jerk, then she was gathered in my arms, safe against my
chest and away from the pains of a world she was too good for. She
shook in my arms, her body more fragile than I remembered.

Gem pulled my arm. “Vance, they’re behind
us.”

Shots rang out and Kaynan let out a growl
before he phased and took down two guards with guns. Gem shot two
with darts, then Kaynan grappled a third, pulling him down to the
ground with his teeth sunk into the man’s gun hand.

“
Vance!” Gem
called.

I turned in time to see a door I hadn't
noticed behind the cage open and four more guards come through.
“Stay behind me,” I told Gem. “Watch over her.” The blue-eyed
werewolf nodded, her jaw set with fierce determination.

I set Nora gently down in a gap between two
crates. “We'll protect you,” I promised. Her beautiful green eyes
held mine for a brief second before Gem stepped in to guard
her.

I turned and found the guards almost to us.
I crossed the floor and threw a punch at the first man's chest. He
flew back into another guard, effectively blocking the door for a
brief moment while I dealt with the other two. I ducked under a
punch, then blocked a crowbar aimed for my head. I wanted to phase,
but it was easier to protect the others in human form, so I gritted
my teeth and settled into a boxing stance.