The Wolf Within (34 page)

***

Marco’s call took more like two hours to come through. By that time, I was ready to climb the walls. But Esme had come through and the place was filled with Taskforce agents and so much equipment that I could have probably commanded a small war from my living room. If I had any idea how to command a war, that is.

Which I didn’t. I wasn’t sure I could even pull off what we were planning.

We figured Tate knew I’d have backup. So he would be planning too. Which meant I basically had to go in alone and the backup had to be super-sneaky
delayed
backup.

Delayed backup wasn’t a concept I was particularly happy with.

I would’ve preferred an all-out full-frontal assault but that would only result in a body count none of us could live with. Except maybe Tate.

So I was going in alone. Wired for sound, but we also figured Tate would take care of that too, as soon as he got his hands on me.

We were really relying on Jase. If Jase made it back from Marco’s in one piece and even agreed to help us.

Big ifs.

But a few minutes after I got off the phone with Marco, just as the Taskforce agents were busily printing maps and satellite images of the list of addresses he’d provided, Jase walked through my front door.

He looked like hell. But I didn’t have time to find out exactly what had happened at Marco’s so I contented myself with a big hug and then handed him over to Esme so she could fill him in on our plan.

I studied the maps as they were laid out on my kitchen table. Three possible locations. All in the right area. I pointed at the first. “That one is too close to a major road,” I said. “Tate wouldn’t want to be anywhere too populated.” It was a guess of course, but at this point, I only had instinct to go on.

Tate thought he knew me but I’d also learned a thing or two about the way his mind worked.

The other two properties were far more secluded. Perfect vamp lairs. So how to choose? I bent closer, as though I could will a clue to spring to life on the paper.

Esme joined me. “Anything?”

I shook my head. “Maybe we should just pick one and, if that doesn’t work, we’ll move on.”

“He’ll be keeping tabs on you somehow, you might not get a second chance. We have the recording of your call, perhaps there’s something on it.”

“Wait . . . what?”

“Dan was recording your calls. We couldn’t trace the number that called you, the call wasn’t long enough but we have the recording.” Esme touched her earpiece and murmured a few words. In no time at all a short were appeared with a laptop.

“I cleaned this up,” he said to Esme, “but the signal was pretty crappy.”

“Crappy is better than nothing,” Esme replied. She hit play and the call replayed. I winced at how shaken I sounded. I thought I’d held it together better than that. I tried to focus on the background sounds. “There.” I said when I heard the noise again. That.”

The tech guy pursed his lips. “Some sort of machinery?” He bent and fiddled with something on the laptop. “Listen again.”

This time the track was all background noise, Rio and my voices wiped away. The noise was a little clearer.

“A train, maybe?” I said.

Esme picked up the map of the closest property, staring at it. “This one has a train line running along the far border of the property. It’s a long way from the buildings though, and those woods would muffle a lot of noise.”

The were tilted his head. “If the wind was right, you could hear it though.”

“Check the train timetable,” I suggested. “We know what time the call was, can we work out if there would have been a train there at that time?”

“It would be a freight line,” Esme said. “Let me get someone one it.”

They were still talking when my cell phone rang. My new, FBI sanctioned cell. Esme had given it to me when her team had first arrived. Along with strict instructions as to what to do if it rang. I didn’t recognize the number so I waved frantically at the agent monitoring my calls as I hit receive. “Hello?”

“You’re taking a long time, Pretty.”

Kyra, this time. “Just making sure I look nice when I stake your ass,” I said, stalling.

“How sweet. But you shouldn’t take too long, Pretty. We’re getting bored. Your wolf won’t like it if we get bored. Here, why don’t we let him talk to you? Maybe he can convince you.”

“Ashley, don’t you dare come after me,” Dan’s voice sounded rusty, like his throat hurt. “Stay away, do you hear me—” I heard a dull thud like flesh hitting flesh, and then a groan.

“Dan!” I screamed down the phone.

“Me again, Pretty.” Kyra said. “Your wolf is being stubborn. He should know better. He won’t be such a good wolf if he can’t run.”

I tried not to let myself think about what the threat meant. “Trust me, I’m coming.”

“And I haven’t even touched you yet, how flattering.” This time, it wasn’t Kyra, it was Tate.

My stomach went into freefall. “You’re not going to touch me.”

“We shall see,” Tate said. “If you get here in time.”

I was vaguely aware of the agent making ‘keep talking’ gestures so I didn’t hang up. Instead I focused on my anger so I could hold off the fear. “Do you really think you’re that hard to find?”

He made a snarling noise. “Finding me might be easy. Getting here could be a cinch. Leaving will be the hard part.”

I ignored the automatic shiver that crept down my spine and steeled myself to sound bored. “Well, you know, my social calendar is pretty full these days. So I won’t be able to stay too long.”

“You’re very cocky for someone who’s barely a cub. I’ve killed plenty of wolves, you know.”

“Really? How interesting. Why don’t you tell me all the details, and then that’ll be just one more reason for the state to fry you when we catch you?”

That earned me another wordless snarl and sweat trickled down my spine. Baiting him into a rage before I even got there. Not my smartest strategy. Unless anger made him careless.

I could only hope.

The agent gave me a thumbs-up, which meant they had a trace on the call. Which also meant I could hang up. “Was there something else?” I said, still trying to sound casual. “Because I have another call.”

“It’s not wise to think you have the upper hand, Ashley.” His voice was ice-cold. No trace of emotion at all.

“I guess we’ll see when I get there.”

“I’m looking forward to it.”

I couldn’t say the same so I snapped the phone shut with relief. I felt like I needed a shower, like Tate’s voice had soiled me somehow.

I tried to shake the feeling off. But truth was, I was terrified. I was an accountant, for Chrissakes. I didn’t go waltzing around trying to take down psychopaths. I dealt with numbers and nice safe financial details. No balance sheet had ever tried to kill me.

But numbers wouldn’t save Dan. No, that was up to me.

***

I’d always thought riding in a helicopter would make me throw up. Instead, to my relief, I found it fascinating to be flying through the rapidly darkening sky.

Or at least it was distracting enough to take my mind off where we were going.

Jase, however, spent the flight looking green and clinging to the strap beside his seat.

Somehow that made me feel slightly better.

As cunning plans went, ours was pretty basic. We were flying to Moses Lake, the closest big town to the property we hoped was Tate’s hideaway. Esme’s team had confirmed a train on the line at the right time for Rio’s call. So we’d decided to go with that option. Tate’s call had been routed through a web of satellites, so we hadn’t been able to confirm our theory from that.

No, we were gambling on the accuracy of train timetables and faint noises that even shifter ears struggled to identify. Perfect.

But it was the best we could do. So Moses Lake it was.

From there, I’d drive to the property where Tate was holed up and walk in.

That was the part I didn’t like but we hadn’t come up with an alternative. Jase would monitor me, if he could and then the Taskforce cavalry would come rolling in after an hour. So all I really had to do was stay alive for an hour. And keep Dan alive too.

Simple
, right?

I had a gun, I was wired and I had several knives—one of them silver. Carrying silver was risky because, while it might give me a chance to hurt Rio, it could also be used against me.

Not that it was likely Tate was lacking in ways to hurt me if that was what he wanted.

I also had Bug’s platinum cross wrapped around my forearm, hidden by the sleeve of my top.

As the helicopter came in to land, Esme’s voice came across my headset. “You still sure you want to do it this way? It’s not too late to change plans.”

I swiveled in my seat so I could see her. We both knew Dan was unlikely to survive if we attacked Tate’s compound. Tate would kill him at the first hint of an assault.

I had to free him first.

“We stick to the plan,” I said firmly.

Esme nodded and I saw her mouth something at Agent Stevens, using his name.

Robert
.

I flashed on Smith again. Smith saying “Sorry, Robert.” When I’d woken up after Tate. Suddenly I knew I hadn’t dreamed it. And if I hadn’t then, I thought I knew exactly who Robert was. Robert Keenan. My father. Smith had known my father.

“Esme,” I said, mind racing. If Smith knew my father, then we had a whole new lead.

She turned back to me. “What?”

“I’ve remembered something. I think Smith knew my father.”

Her eyebrows rose. “What?”

“Something he said when they had me. I thought I’d dreamed it. But I didn’t. If I—” I choked off the words. I was going to be fine. I was coming back. I had to believe it or I’d never get out of the helicopter. “We need to follow that connection. Look at my father.”

She looked doubtful but nodded. “Let’s get this done first.”

I sat back feeling weirdly peaceful. I’d done something useful finally.

The air smelled strange as I climbed out of the chopper. Like oil and hot metal and a damp heaviness—as though a storm was on the way. It was supposed to be a clear night. But maybe the weather had decided not to cooperate.

I shivered as the chopper blades, still slowly circling, whipped my ponytail round in my face. I followed Esme and Jase across the airfield to where the Taskforce team waited.

Away from the chopper, the air smelled cleaner, richer and I breathed deeply. Part of me wondered whether this was the last night I’d smell anything but I squished the doubt away. If I fell to pieces now everything would be lost.

There was really no point putting off the inevitable. I let them do a final check of the tiny wire hidden behind my ear, then hugged Jase and climbed into the waiting rental car.

It had GPS and a navigation system so I followed the instructions until I was well away from the town and headed toward Tate’s hide-out. If indeed it was Tate’s hide-out.

The Taskforce had done some surveillance. Apparently someone liked Tate rated some satellite time. We had a picture of the property hot off the airwaves, confirming that the buildings were still standing and there were a couple of cars parked near the largest of them. The electricity and water were connected. So someone lived there.

I just had no idea if it might be Tate.

It had to be though. Otherwise, Dan would probably die.

As I drove down the windy road, I really had no idea what to expect. Satellite pictures didn’t really show what condition the buildings were in or which ones might be occupied. So I just drove through the darkness battling the fear and rage turning my stomach to water, driving on with no idea what I’d find at my destination. I wracked my brain for any memory of ever meeting a man who could have been a young Smith, back when my father was alive. I came up blank but the more I thought about it, the more certain I became that, if this went back to when my father was alive, then this was bigger than just Tate. Maybe I’d be able to use that against him.

After thirty or so minutes or so the navigation system told me I had about a mile to go. I slowed the car as I pass a small gap in the trees lining the road.

Then I hit reverse and backed up.

If I drove to Tate’s then all that would happen was they’d somehow disable the car or take my keys.

So I might as well leave it here where—if by some miracle Dan and I escaped before the Taskforce got to us—we might be able get back to it. My night vision was pretty darn good now that I was a wolf, so I wasn’t worried about walking the last mile.

Thankfully the car was black. It didn’t show up too much from the road. I hid the keys under a handy rock and set off at a half-jog.

With each step, the tension riding me grew exponentially. I stuck to the shadows at the side of the road, smelling the night air and trying to pretend I wasn’t doing what might just be the stupidest thing I’d ever done.

Or the last thing I’d ever do.

By the time I reached an entrance that matched the details on the map (tall wooden gates between brick pillars topped with weird obelisks) I was fighting both my own nerves and the overwhelming desire to change and sneak through the trees.

But changing would mean I lost the weapons, the wire and other minor details such as clothes and hands and of course a voice. Hard to negotiate without that.

Plus I wanted to do this in human form.

Beat the monster without becoming one.

The wolf gave me extra strength and speed in human form. That was all I was going to have to help me. Even that, if I could, I wanted to keep from Tate as long as possible. Let him think his vaccine meant I was weaker than a normal wolf. It might give me some small advantage.

Besides, my emotions were too shaky for me to feel confident about changing and making it back to human form. I didn’t really know how to change without the force of the full moon anyway.

I stared up at the obelisks for a long moment. I couldn’t see any cameras but that didn’t mean they weren’t there. So as soon as I touched the gates, I had to assume Tate and his cronies would know someone was coming.