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We need transport, too, he said. For thirty wolves.
This we can also do, she promised him.
And I need to know where Mercy is, he said.
She is at Kyle and Warrens house, Elizaveta told him. I thought you would ask, so I sent one of my grandsons to follow her.
Good, he said. Come as soon as you can.
Yes, she told himand hung up.
Elizaveta was nearly seventy; she was powerful, but her body was begi
She might have taken it wrong, might have blamed his pack, except that she liked Adam. His mother had been Russian; her parents had fled Moscow when she was a child. She had spoken Russian as her first language, and Adam had learned it at her knee. When hed first spoken to Elizaveta in Russian, shed recognized the accent of Moscow, her hometown, and it had created a bond that he deliberately used. He was always very careful not to tell her that his mother had left fleeing the tide of revolution that had immolated Russia just after WWI.
He was at least as old as Elizaveta. She didnt know it, would never know it because Adam understood people. Oh, she knew in abstract, unlike the public, that werewolves could live a good long time, but shed never made the co
He would kill her before he did that.
The vampires had a taboo about attempting to turn anyone who was not a normal human. It had happened. The local seethe had a witchbloodand a woman who had been brain-damaged while still human.
Adam knew of three werewolves who had been witchborn. They were the three most dangerous and powerful werewolves in the world, and he didnt think it was an accident. The idea of that much power in a woman so morally
ambivalent was disturbing.
The thought made him laugh. Here he stood dripping blood on Spanish tile, his naked body drenched with the blood of strangers, and he was judging other peoples morality.
He could have let them all live, turned them over to the courts. But the courts had let a serial killer walk because his victims had been fae and werewolf.
Cantrip was a government agencythese people were not serial killers, and if he turned them over to the courts, only Peters body and a kill list would stand as witness against them. Additionally, it would come out that they had a drug that worked on the wolves, a vulnerability that Bran had been trying to keep secretand Adam agreed it was best not to advertise to everyone who might decide it was a good idea to rid the world of werewolves.
Probably the justice system would only slap the wrists of whoever was in command. He might even lose his jobto be hired immediately at ten times his salary by someone who supported his vision. Cantrip would hire another person with the same attitudes. The end result would be that the enemy prospered, and the wolves would lose a few more weapons in their struggle to survive.
But Adam could have done it anyway. Could have captured the enemy without killing anyone. He chose not to. And it wasnt because he was sure that the courts would not grant them justice; that was just an excuse, really. He clenched his bloody fist, then brought it up to his mouth and licked it.
They had attacked his people, and they had killed the one he most needed to protect. They threatened those under his protection, and for that, they could only die. The world needed to remember that it was a bad idea to attack a werewolf pack.
He picked up the phone again and dialed Hauptman Security.
Gutstein. There were the sounds of a busy office behind him. It was very early in the morning, an odd time for busy.
Jim. Adam closed his eyes.
Adam.Sir. Good to hear from you. Behind him, the office noises ceasedand then someone cheered, followed by a whole lot of noise.
Jim Gutstein covered the speaker of the phone, but his whistle still made Adam jerk the phone away from his ear until it was over. When he put the phone back to his ear, Jims voice was still muffled. Cant hear a word hes saying. Shut up until we know whats going on.
Silence fell, and Jim said,Sorry, sir. Brooks told us what he knew, and weve been worried.
It took Adam a half a second to co
And shorthanded, said a whiny voice over Jims line.
Tell Evan Adam started, grateful for the routine that helped keep him human.
There goes that promotion, Evan, said Jim. It was an old joke, and everyone laughed. In the noise, Jim said, Are you okay, sir?
Never better, Adam said wryly, considering the scope of the SNAFU. However, I have this situation under control. I need you to find out who is in charge of security for Senator Campbell and tell him that a group from Cantrip, at least one person in the military, and a money man in the private sector have it in for the senator and tried to arrange an assassination.
The word is that they already know, Jim told him. Mercy was pretty clear to the police.
Id rather know that they have that information for certain. You tell them that the people behind the attempt tried to blackmail me into doing itand though that situation is under control, it is not certain that the senator is safe. I have taken a bite out of the Cantrip faction. He smiledwith teeth. The military gentleman was probably aimed more at us than himand that might be true of the money man as well, but they are still in play. They had alternate plans if they couldnt force me to act. The kill list hadnt been the only thing in their Ops room. Mostly just notes and scraps of paper, but he was good at co
Ill find out who the senators security detail is and tell them. I know someone who can talk to the senator directly. That will make the feds send someone official to talk to you.
Tell them I wont talk officially. Jim had been with him nearly fifteen years. There are bodies I wont claim, Jim, or lie about. My official story is that I woke up and the place they were holding us was on fire, so we escaped. Officially, I dont know anything except that they seemed to want me to assassinate the senator.
Is it on fire?
Not yet, said Adam. The witch could do a lot with a body, but she wouldnt be able to erase the marks his claws had made in the tile or the doors hed splintered. Fix the bodies and burn the house.
The blood was drying on his skin, and it itched. The smell was making his hunger worse. Time to finish this talk.
Good, Jim said. I want you to know that we are behind you, you and your wolves. Weve got your back. And right now Ive got all sorts of our most expensive equipment keeping watch on Kyle Brookss house, and we have people following Mercy. We havent been able to locate Jesse. Brooks told us Jesse was safe.
Yes. Good. Ill stop in tomorrow, and well call a meeting to discuss how we should proceed.
Do you want us to tell your wife that youre okay? Jim asked.
Adam looked down at the dark stains on his hands.No. Ill tell her when were really out of here.
All right. Well keep her safe.
The pack had left the last kill finally and crowded into the previously adequately sized room as he hung up the phone.
Honey, nearly as blood-splattered as he was because her fur held on to it better than his skin did, came forward with her head and tail low. The closer she came, the faster she moved. When she reached him, she dropped to the ground and leaned against him hard enough that if he had not been braced for it, he would have staggered.