The Finding (52 page)

“What’s that?”
Hugh stared at the array of blinking lights in surprise.

“Someone’s been
tiptoeing through my computer system as well as security. Know a
hacker, do you, Cassandra?” Mr Aldrich looked at her
suspiciously.

She said
nothing, hoping Daniel had a way to prevent the man from following
a trail that led back to his IP address. They didn’t need Mr
Aldrich discovering the pack’s location. She had a bad feeling that
he wasn’t the type of person you wanted showing up unexpectedly on
your doorstep.

On the floor,
the man she’d knocked out earlier groaned. Aldrich nudged him with
his foot. “Get up Swanson. With your training and background, I
expected better from you. Explain to me how this little chit of
girl took you out.”

Swanson slowly
got to his feet, rubbing the back of his head and then giving it a
shake as if trying to clear his mind. He held on to the side of the
desk, frowning and swaying slightly. “Damned if I know. I was
viewing security tapes when—”

Cassie couldn’t
help the snort that escaped her lips and Aldrich shot a look at
her. “Something to say, Cassandra?”

She hesitated
then shrugged. Creating dissent amongst the enemy was supposed to
be a good strategy. “He was watching a porno flick and didn’t even
notice me coming up behind him.”

“Really?”
Aldrich swung his gaze back to Swanson. “We’ll be having a talk,
Swanson, once I’ve dealt with Miss Greyson.”

Swanson paled
and opened his mouth, but Hugh interrupted.

“Mr Aldrich,
look at this!” Hugh pointed to one of several screens that
apparently broadcast the views from the security cameras. Cassie
bit back a gasp. It showed Bryan, Kane, and Ryne running up a set
of stairs. “Someone’s coming up the interior fire escape
route.”

By the time
Aldrich had moved closer to the small screen, they were gone. He
flipped a switch and another camera took over, catching the men as
they rounded another flight. Aldrich studied the image for a moment
and then swore. “Damn! It’s him.”

“Who?” Hugh
frowned.

“Never mind,”
Mr Aldrich touched the scarf around his neck, looking decidedly
nervous. “Hugh and Swanson, I need you to slow down our unexpected
company.”

Swanson made to
move, but Hugh didn’t budge. Instead he pressed Mr Aldrich for more
information. “I don’t go head to head with three men unless I know
something about them.”

“They’re here
to take Cassandra.”

“Really? And
why is that?” Hugh flicked his gaze at Mr Aldrich and then focussed
back on Cassie, turning her so he could see her face.

Cassie bit her
lip, wishing she could say they were her pack, but she remembered
the Keeping and held back. Damn, she thought to herself, I’m barely
a werewolf and I’m already thinking about the rules. “They’re my
friends. I’m going to give them a cut of my inheritance.”

Mr Aldrich gave
an evil smile, seeming to know full well what she longed to say.
“See Hugh? Simply men trying to get their hands on her money.”

“So what’s my
percentage?” Hugh studied Mr Aldrich again. “I said I’d help you,
but you never gave me a number.”

The lawyer
narrowed his eyes, obviously tiring of the word play. “Once you’ve
dealt with the intruders, we’ll talk money.”

“If he’s
getting a raise, I want one too.” Swanson spoke up.

“After your
earlier performance you’ll be lucky to have a job, Swanson. Now
both of you go and get rid of those men before they’re knocking on
my door.”

Hugh nodded.
“What do you want me to do with her?” He shook Cassie slightly.

“I’ll deal with
her. Just go and make sure those men don’t make it up here.”

Swanson said
nothing, but he gave Cassie a dirty look when he passed by and she
shivered at the hatred she saw there. Maybe ratting on him hadn’t
been a good idea. Hugh left as well, looking a little too pleased
with his job for Cassie’s peace of mind. She hoped the Bryan and
the Alphas would be all right.

Nervously, she
brought her gaze back to the screen, wondering what floor the men
might be on. Climbing forty storeys would be exhausting; would they
have any energy left to fight? And it would be in a stairwell,
which seemed a more dangerous venue to her. Images of Bryan falling
down several flights of stairs, his limbs twisted and broken filled
her mind.

Cassie fisted
her hands, wishing there was something she could do to help him,
but what? She was too far away to do anything. There was no way to
warn them that Hugh and Swanson were coming. She sighed in
frustration. God, she hated standing around like some pathetic
character in a romance novel.

Her eyes
flashed around the room, looking for something, anything, to do.
There was just herself and Aldrich. Hmm... Cassie looked at the man
before her. He was just an average build, greying... Surely, he
couldn’t be that strong. And she was a werewolf, wasn’t she? That
must give her some advantage. She
had
knocked out the
security guard and her uncle had enrolled her in several
self-defence courses. Maybe it was time to put them to good use.
She licked her lips and shifted her weight to the balls of her
feet.

“I wouldn’t do
that if I were you, Cassandra.” Aldrich turned slowly to face her
and casually withdrew a gun from the pocket of his jacket. “You
might be a werewolf, but I think a bullet at this close a range
would slow you down considerably, don’t you? Oh, and by the way,
I’m an excellent shot. Marksman class.”

He smiled
politely at her and Cassie eased her weight back. Okay, so
attacking him wasn’t an option.

Aldrich cocked
his head to the side and considered her. “You have the look of
someone who could be impulsive and we can’t have that now, can we?”
He opened up another drawer and rummaged around, then pulled out a
roll of tape and held it up triumphantly. “Just the thing to keep
you line. Turn around please, hands behind your back.”

Cassie
hesitated and Aldrich tutted in obvious annoyance.

“Come, we don’t
have much time. If you don’t cooperate, I’ll be obliged to knock
you out. Which would you prefer?” He raised an eyebrow, his face
bland, and matter of fact.

Realizing she’d
rather be bound than unconscious, Cassie slowly turned, her mind
racing. He couldn’t tape her hands together with a gun in his hand,
could he? As she stood with her back to him, she listened
carefully. There was slightly rustling of cloth, then the ripping
sound of tape being pulled from a roll. Was the gun in his hand or
had he placed it in his pocket or waist band?

She hesitated
for a moment then decided to chance it. Kicking backwards, her foot
made contact with some portion of his anatomy. He gave a loud
‘oomph’ and she took off running.

Unfortunately
it was a short run, for as soon as she turned the corner, she
encountered a security door. She tugged at the handle, growling in
frustration when she realized it was palm print activated. Whirling
around, she came up short. Aldrich was behind her, looking
extremely displeased and holding the gun levelled at her chest.

“Did no one
ever teach you how to play nicely?” His raspy voice was deceptively
mild as he stepped closer.

Cassie felt her
eyes widen as he reached up with his hand. Was he going to strike
her? She braced herself to endure the blow, but rather than hitting
her, he grabbed her pony tail and used it to twist her around until
her neck was bent at an uncomfortable angle.

“Now hold still
this time or I
will
use the butt of this gun knock you
out.”

She whimpered
as he yanked her hair even harder.

“Hands behind
your back.”

Cassie complied
and he thrust a piece of tape into her palm.

“Hold the
end.”

While she
gripped the end of the piece of tape, he wrapped the rest around
her wrists using just his one hand. Once her wrists were secured to
his satisfaction, he released her hair. “Very good. It’s likely
that Swanson and Hugh will only be able to slow them down for so
long, so please move along quickly.” He reached around her, pressed
his hand to the sensor on the door and it swung open. Gesturing
with the gun, he urged her ahead of him. “Turn to your left and
proceed to the main living room.”

Cassie did as
she was told, her feet sinking into lush carpeting as she moved
deeper into the apartment. She looked around, taking in her
surroundings and searching for anything that might help her escape.
The decor was as cold and unwelcoming as the back rooms had been;
ultra modern, no doubt expensive but lacking in any personal, homey
touches. How could someone live in such a sterile environment?

Behind her, she
could hear Mr. Aldrich breathing, a faint wheezing sound occurring
with each breath he took. He seemed as cold and unemotional as his
home. Well, that wasn’t strictly true. The man was scared, she
could smell the fear coming off him—strange how she was able to
identify that; perhaps it was her wolf’s doing—but his outward
appearance and manner led one to believe he remained calmly in
control. She supposed that was what made him such a good lawyer and
why her uncle had employed him.

She glanced
over her shoulder at him, wondering what his plan was.

Almost as if he
could read her mind, he answered her question. “I’m well prepared
for events such as this. If your pack mates—and I assume that’s who
they are—thought to take me by surprise, they’re sadly mistaken. In
the event of a security breach such as the one they’re attempting,
there’s a silent alarm, which summons a helicopter. It will land on
the rooftop patio and whisk me away to safety.”

Her stomach
dropped. Did Aldrich mean to take her along with him? And if he
did, once she was in the helicopter, how would Bryan be able to
find her?

*****

Bryan led the
way up the stairs, taking two steps at a time. It was quite a climb
and he could feel the sweat dampening his body, trickling down the
indent of his spine and dampening his waist band. His leg muscles
were starting to protest, too. As he reached yet another landing,
he looked up, but could only see more and more flights of stairs.
There was no end in sight. Behind him, he could hear the panting
breaths of the two Alphas.

“How many more
floors to go?” Ryne paused for a moment, leaning his back against
the wall and then sliding down to sit on the floor.

“I lost count,”
Kane admitted, also stopping. He bent over and braced his arms on
the railing then rested his head on them.

“A few too many
hours at the Broken Antler, Ryne?” Bryan teased through his heavy
breathing. He was tired as well, but not as much as the Alphas.

Ryne shot him a
dirty look. “I can still whip your butt with one hand tied behind
my back, pup.”

“True.” Bryan
conceded the point having no wish to challenge Ryne. While he
himself might have the physical endurance due to his strict
training regimen, Ryne was the strategist whose cunning and quick
moves allowed him to out-manoeuvre almost any opponent. Besides,
being Alpha wasn’t in his plans; he enjoyed his Beta position too
much.

“Was that light
on before?” Kane had raised his head to watch their good natured
sparring, but now his eyes were fixed on a camera mounted in the
upper corner of the stairwell.

“Damn!” Bryan
started moving even as he spoke. “Someone’s turned the security
system back on which means Cassie’s probably been discovered.” He
forced himself to move faster, paying no attention to whether or
not the Alphas were keeping up. A feeling that something was
definitely wrong came over him; Cassie was scared, much more so
than she’d been earlier.

He bound up the
steps, hopping the railing at each landing, rather than taking the
extra steps to walk around. His mate needed him and he wasn’t there
to defend her!

The sound of
their pounding feet bounced off the cement walls and echoed through
the cavernous space. It was only by chance that Bryan caught the
squeak of a door opening somewhere overhead and then the sound of
more footsteps joined the din they were making.

Sparing a
glance back, he caught the alert looks on Kane and Ryne’s faces.
They, too, were aware that other persons were now in the stairwell
and heading down towards them. Their expressions were grim as they
continued to climb upwards—there was no other option—but now they
were prepared for a confrontation as well.

The footsteps
were getting closer and he could make out two voices though the
exact words were muffled and distorted. Two more flights, possibly
three and they’d meet up, he judged, coiling his muscles in
readiness.

He rounded the
next corner and two large men came barrelling down at him.

“Heads up,”
Bryan shouted. “Incoming!” He bent low and rammed his shoulder into
the gut of the first man, using the man’s own momentum to help
pitch the fellow over his head.

Behind him, he
heard shouts of surprise from Kane and Ryne. Someone was falling;
there were grunts and groans, then the unmistakeable sound of flesh
hitting flesh. He didn’t turn to see what was going on, knowing the
two Alphas would handle the one man between them.

Instead he
concentrated on the next fellow. Even though he’d only had a brief
glimpse of him outside Cassie’s house, he knew it was Hugh. Not
that names mattered, he thought as he tackled the man.
Unfortunately, he didn’t have the element of surprise that he did
with the first. Hugh was ready for him and threw him sideways over
the railing.

Air rushed out
of his lungs as his body slammed into the stairs, the edges digging
into his flesh with bruising force, then raking his skin as he slid
down a few steps before being able to gain a hold. Every bone in
his back protested the treatment and a string of swear words ripped
from his throat, followed by a snarl as his wolf threatened to take
over. He rolled over and got to his knees only to have his head
snap back when a kick landed in his face. It drove him backwards
and he hit the wall hard, his head bouncing off the cement bricks.
A coppery taste filled his mouth and he spit out blood before
wiping his face with the back of his hand. Giving no thought to his
throbbing head, Bryan took a deep breath and launched himself
forwards again.