Page 72

26

Rex

“Stay here.” I pull the shirt over my head and fling open the closet door, looking for a coat. “I’m going to help Elon.”

“Please don’t,” she says from the corner of the living room. It’s a blind spot in case anyone tries to shoot at the house. Silas has his arm wrapped around her. “It’s bad enough that Elon's out there.”

Raking my fingers through my hair, I spin and look at her. My girl. My Mate. “He tried to kill you. I can’t let that go.”

“You don’t have to.” She looks to Levi and Silas. “Tell him not to go out there.”

Levi’s pressed to the wall, peeking out the window. “Looks like you won’t have to.”

“What does that mean?” I head to the window, not giving a fuck if someone sees me. I’m exhausted and burned out—past the end of my rope. If today is the day this ends, then I’m ready for it. But before I reach Levi, the front door kicks open. Elon enters, a dirty, bloody mess. Behind him, Mallory and Kane drag in a man wearing head-to-toe camouflage, fighting against the restraints cinched around his wrists.

It takes me a full heartbeat to realize who they caught.

Erik.

“You’re fucking with me.” Rage pumps through my veins like lava, and I lunge at him, grabbing him by the collar. “You came here to kill my Mate? My best friend?”

The crack of my fist hitting his chin comes before Mallory jerks him aside. When the agent looks up at me, I see the agent’s split lip. Erik put up a hell of a fight.

“That,” I tell Erik, “was for all the shit you put me through the last few months.”

“Fuck you,” he says, spitting blood next to my shoe. “You fucking traitor.”

I lunge for him again, but this time Kane jumps between me and Erik.

“Damn it, Rex,” he shouts. “We’ve got him under arrest. A team is coming to pick him up and take him to interrogation.”

“Is he the only one?” I ask, heart thudding. “Did he come alone?”

“We didn’t find anyone else on our sweep,” Kane says, but he shifts on his heels, knowing it’s not enough.

“Leave him here,” I say. “We’ll watch him.”

He laughs. “You’ll kill him.”

“He won’t,” Levi says, “because if we kill him, we won’t be able to find Anex.” He gives me a hard look. “And that’s our priority, right?”

I push the image of wrapping my hands around Erik’s throat and watching the life drain out of his eyes. Reluctantly, I agree. “Right.”

Kane nods at Mallory. “We’ll check the perimeter. You stay here, out of sight, away from the windows.”

Weapon drawn, he eases out the front door, taking caution that no one is out there. Mallory removes his gun from the holster on his side.

“Hey,” I call before he follows Kane. “Can I interrogate him?”

Mallory touches his puffy lip. I notice his knuckles are bleeding, too. “As long as he’s alive when we get back.”

The door slams and the room is quiet. Silas brings a dining room chair into the middle of the room, his eyes more focused than they’ve been in days. Good. He needs to get off his ass and get pissed. Elon hands me a weapon, one I’m assuming he took off of Erik. I tuck it behind my back and help him hoist our hostage off the ground, then toss him in the chair. Levi moves to retie his binds behind his back, securing him to the chair.

“They’re bad enough,” Erik says, eyes focused on Levi, “but you’re the worst, you know that? He thought you were a real believer. A teacher. Enlightened.”

Levi stills, his expression blank, but there’s no doubt a million emotions are running through him. His fingers curl into tight balls at his sides and I look to Silas. “Get him out of here.” I jerk my chin at Imogene. “Her too. Upstairs until I’m finished.”

“What?” Imogene cries, voice panicked. “I want to hear what he has to say.”