Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 131137 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 656(@200wpm)___ 525(@250wpm)___ 437(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131137 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 656(@200wpm)___ 525(@250wpm)___ 437(@300wpm)
“Logan told us to take the guns in case you went too wild or we were disturbed.”
“And he wanted you to shoot Shaya too, right?”
“Our order was to shoot her if you didn’t react.” He jumped at Nick’s growl.
“Tell us about the game preserve,” ordered Nick.
Eyes wide, Lee-Roy gawked. After a moment, he finally spoke. “I don’t know what you’re—”
“Don’t play with me, Lee-Roy,” growled Nick. “I really don’t know how much longer I can stay calm. Answer me.”
“I don’t know where it is—we’re blindfolded the whole way there.” He sounded smug that he didn’t have the answer.
“So you’ve been there?” Derren’s question dripped with anger.
Lee-Roy smiled at Derren. “You really shouldn’t knock something until you’ve tried it. It’s surprisingly addictive. The shifters are drugged at first—something that stops them from shifting for a little while. Then they’re dumped in the middle of nowhere. When they wake up and are finally on the move, a group of us begin to hunt. Slowly at first, not letting them know we’re there. Then we amp it up. Guns, knives, whips, sledgehammers—you name it, we use it. They always beg in the end.”
Oh, the sick bastard. As if he’d sensed Shaya’s impulse to slap the asshole, Nick shook his head slightly at her. She knew why: He didn’t want Lee-Roy’s flow to be interrupted.
“And then they scream,” continued Lee-Roy. “God, how they scream. Especially the females. It’s one of the perks of working for Logan.”
“Youmotherfuckingtwistedpieceofmonkeyshit!” snapped Taryn. Only Trey’s hold on her arm held her back.
Shaking with rage, Nick gritted out, “So Logan is the one behind it?” The crazy bastard laughed. “Something funny?”
“Here you are judging me, calling me twisted, when the person who created the preserve is one of your own.”
There was a boom of shocked silence.
Finally, Nick spoke. “Repeat that.”
“Oh, I was shocked too.” Lee-Roy shook his head, incredulous. “I was just as shocked that Logan would associate with any shifter. But this guy doesn’t consider himself a shifter—hates the race as much as we do, and he’s promised to stand with us against you all.”
“Bullshit,” bit out Shaya.
Lee-Roy laughed again. “Want to know what’s even funnier?” he asked Nick. “You know him.” His smile was cruel and taunting.
“Nick, if you don’t kill him,” rumbled Trey, “I will.”
“That won’t be necessary. This one’s mine.” Then Nick sliced open the human’s throat with his claw. The bastard deserved much worse than a quick, merciful death, but Nick had already traumatized his sister by unleashing his temper in vengeance. He wouldn’t do that to Shaya too. She had a huge heart, and he wanted only to protect it. Worried that even this swift execution had been too much for her, Nick looked at her. There was no revulsion on her face, only concern. For him, he realized. She was concerned that he wasn’t calming.
Knowing and hating that Nick expected her to judge him, Shaya went to her mate and curled her arms around his waist. “He deserved worse.”
Accepting the paper towel Derren handed him, Nick wiped the blood from his claw and then retracted it. Wrapping an arm around Shaya, Nick breathed her in, using her to center him. “I think the bastard was insane.”
“But not a liar,” said Trey. “When he said the preserve was being run by a shifter, he was telling the truth. And he wasn’t kidding when he said you knew him.”
Nick nodded, aware that Trey was right. “That doesn’t exactly narrow it down. I know a lot of people.”
Shaya looked up at Nick. “But if the shifter’s closely allied with Logan, it makes sense that he’s local. At the very least, I’d say we can narrow it down to male shifters in Arizona.”
“Then we need to get a list of the male shifters residing in Arizona,” said Derren.
Nick turned to Derren. “Call Donovan, he’ll be able to get that info for us.”
“Let me guess,” drawled Shaya. “One of your contacts—not your friends.” Derren chuckled while Nick frowned down at her.
“The question bugging me is,” began Taryn, “why would a shifter hate his own kind?”
Puffing out a breath, Derren shook his head. “I’m pretty sure said shifter wouldn’t be dumb enough to let other shifters know about it.”
“If we’re going with the theory that he’s someone local,” said Taryn, “you do realize that places Jesse, Bracken, and Zander under suspicion, don’t you? I mean, think about it: They’ve been supposedly standing guard, but they could just be here to keep watch over us. It also means Hadley’s a suspect. After all, most of the shifters going missing are from his pack, and he’s got a reputation for being a ruthless bastard. Plus, he’s got people supposedly guarding you too, people who are just as capable of reporting back to him.”
Nick nodded, rubbing a hand up and down Shaya’s arm. “When I get the list of names, we can go through them. Until then, we’ll be extra careful about what we allow the rebels and Hadley’s guards to see.”