Page 14 of Blood Pack Beginning (Pack #5)

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Sasha smacked Diego on the ass as she sent him off to meet up with her other puppies. He’d come through as a lover and, even better, willingly partook of her blood, meaning she now had two Lycans bound to her. A good thing? Time would tell.

While Diego filled in the others on what had transpired—and most likely boasted to Amir about getting to bed her—she headed to Pierrot’s office. She entered to find him and Anabel looking dejected.

“I take it you haven’t figured out who the traitor is,” Sasha stated as she plopped into an empty chair.

“Nope,” Pierrot snarled. “Look at this.” He keyed up a video and began playing it. “This is the last footage we have of Dylan.” The screen showed a young man with a stack of lumber balanced on his shoulder, bulky enough it blocked the upper body of the person he walked alongside.

“Why is he carrying wood?” Sasha asked, leaning in for a closer look.

“It’s for the obstacle course the Lycans are building outside the compound. As you can see, whoever he’s with can’t be identified, and before you ask, this is the best angle. They knew exactly which cameras they couldn’t avoid and set them on a loop. I look like a fucking incompetent. Thaddeus will be displeased.” Pierrot slumped in his chair.

“There’s still time to figure it out before he returns.” Thaddeus had texted the previous night to warn Sasha he’d been delayed and would be spending the day in the city. He planned to return sometime after sunset. Given the gravity of the situation, Sasha had reported what had been happening. He planned to interrogate all the vamps upon his return until the culprit was found.

“Not much,” Pierrot snorted. “He’s expected back within the hour.”

“There has to be something to identify them,” Sasha murmured. She pointed. “Do you recognize the shoes they’re wearing?”

“It would be quicker to count who doesn’t wear white running shoes around here,” drawled Pierrot sarcastically.

He had a point but for one thing. “Zoom in,” Sasha ordered.

Pierrot leaned forward and touched the screen before spreading his fingers to enlarge the footwear, the resolution slightly grainy, but not enough to hide a specific detail.

Pierrot whistled. “I recognize those sneakers.”

So did Sasha, because she and Pierrot had listened as Monty bragged about how they used to belong to some basketball star. Why he’d want to overpay for shoes no one understood, but Monty had been quite proud, and Sasha bit her tongue because Thaddeus had impressed upon her the importance of having as many extra allies for the upcoming conflict.

Unlike Thaddeus’ core group—Sasha, Pierrot, Jorge, Anabel, and Tim—Monty owed Thaddeus no life or loyalty but had been visiting the compound often of late given the chaos at court since the queen’s death. While allowed to stay on the premises and come and go as he pleased, Monty wasn’t privy to any inner details, nor did he have any tasks or responsibilities, such as training the Lycan or taking up patrols.

“Wasn’t he quite vocal about his displeasure when Thaddeus began bringing home wolves?” Sasha asked. In truth, none of them had been enthusiastic about it at first, but their loyalty to Thaddeus proved stronger than their dislike of dogs in the house.

“He’d since appeared to be on board.” Pierrot shook his head.

Monty being in the video with Dylan before the boy’s disappearance was damning, but not concrete proof. Sasha would give him a chance to defend himself before handing him over to Thad.

“Where is he?” Sasha asked.

“Good question. Hold on a second.” Pierrot’s fingers flew as he pulled up Monty’s profile and then did something that had his computer searching recent video footage around the compound for a location. “Got him. He’s in the garage.” Pierrot frowned. “Looks like he’s throwing some luggage in a trunk.”

And there was the proof.

“He must know we’re on to him,” Sasha huffed. “Anabel, you with me?”

“Hell yeah I am. The nerve of that fucker trying to frame me.” Anabel slapped her fist into her open palm.

“Take some earpieces,” Pierrot advised, reaching into his desk and pulling out a pair. “I’ll keep you apprised if he leaves the garage before you arrive.”

The device looped over her ear and snuggled into the canal.

Pierrot said, “Testing,” and Sasha cringed as it repeated loudly via the electronic piece.

“Lowering the volume,” Pierrot stated. “Now, get going. He just closed the trunk. I’m going to disable the gate so he can’t drive out.”

Anabel and Sasha set off quickly, exiting the vampire area of the compound and, to no surprise, finding one of Sasha’s wolves waiting, ready to shadow her movements.

“Are you armed?” Sasha snapped at Amir as he matched her fast stride.

“No, why?”

“We found the traitor. He’s preparing to leave.”

“Just one guy?”

“So far, yeah.”

Amir chuckled. “Against two pissed-off broads? Yeah, I doubt you’ll even need me, but don’t worry, my fists are yours if you run into trouble.”

She did like that Amir didn’t try and pull some macho bullshit about handling it himself. Too often, males acted as if having a cock made them the only choice when it came to apprehending and punishing rule-breakers. Nice to know Amir recognized she could kick ass by herself.

As they exited the house and made for the garage, her earpiece crackled. “Monty has been joined by a Lycan carrying a knapsack.”

“Do you know who it is?”

“Yeah, the young one we picked up from that massacred town.”

“Omar?” she blurted without thinking.

Amir heard and exclaimed, “What about my brother? Is he in trouble?”

“He’s in the garage with our suspected traitor.”

“Probably trying to hitch a ride. He told me he planned to leave.”

Sasha kept walking even as she glanced at Amir. “When did he talk to you about going?”

“This morning. Wanted me to go with him, but I told him I wasn’t interested. We said our goodbyes earlier since he planned to skip out right after sunset. Claimed one of the vamps driving to town offered him a ride.”

Sasha’s lips pursed. “A vamp who may very well be the one who killed the Lycans we found in the woods.”

“Oh fuck.” Amir began to sprint, and Sasha raced to follow, yelling, “Anabel, cover the front. Amir and I will go in through the side door.”

“On it.” Anabel loped to the left to plant herself in front of the garage door while Sasha sprinted for the other smaller entrance.

Amir yanked open the door just as an engine roared to life. They entered to hear the whir of the mechanism for the roll-up door. The metal panels began moving upwards on the track.

“Omar!” Amir yelled his brother’s name as he bolted for the passenger side of the sedan.

A grim-faced Monty gunned the car and shot toward the garage door despite the fact it wasn’t fully raised. The scree of metal hurt the ears as the top panel scraped, squeezing through the gap.

She and Amir ran after the car, hearing Anabel’s shouts followed by the rev of an engine and a thump. Sasha raced out of the garage to see Anabel had thrown herself on the hood of the car and was doing her best to hold on as it sped for the compound gate. It showed no sign of slowing down.

“Get off before it crashes,” Sasha shouted.

Anabel rolled from the hood and hit the ground.

Expecting the car to crash, Sasha slowed her sprint to a jog. She had the fucker now.

The car kept rolling, and the gate began to slide open!

“Pierrot, what the fuck?” she hollered.

“It’s not me! The fucker must have programmed an override code,” Pierrot yelled back. “Fuck.”

Fuck indeed, because the car sped out of the compound with not only the traitor but Omar as well.

An abrupt pivot showed a jaw-dropped Amir watching the taillights of the disappearing car. “Don’t just stand there,” she snapped. “We’re going after them.”

Sasha raced back to the garage and headed for the board holding the keys. She grabbed the first set she saw and spun, clicking the fob to see which one blinked.

An SUV chirped, but she noticed Amir not getting into it. He stood staring at the ground, hands on his hips.

Wait, not looking at the ground but the tires—the flat tires.

Sasha’s gaze jumped between all the vehicles, searching in vain because it turned out not a single tire had been spared. Monty had planned his escape well, but even worse, he’d not left alone.

Amir’s stricken face said it all, but Sasha still tried to reassure. “Don’t give up.”

“It’s my fault, though,” he grumbled. “I spent years trying to protect him, and when I finally decide it’s time to cut the strings and let him go, I hand him off to a murderer. I’ve basically killed my brother.”

“No, you didn’t.” She spoke harshly. “Don’t you dare fall apart. We will retrieve your brother.”

“How?” He waved to the ruined vehicles.

“Cross your fingers and toes that Monty forgot I keep my baby parked elsewhere.” Sasha’s Mustang convertible wasn’t parked with the compound’s fleet. She and Thaddeus’ Porsche shared a smaller garage on the far side of the house.

To her relief, she found her baby intact, and Amir, despite his despondency, uttered a sound of appreciation. “Damn, that’s your ride?”

Sasha smiled as she patted the cherry-red hood. “My pride and joy, and faster than what Monty is driving.”

“It’s not big enough for three,” Anabel pointed out, having joined them.

Amir took the choice of who to bring out of Sasha’s hands by vaulting into the passenger seat.

“It’s my brother,” Amir stated, stubbornly crossing his arms.

“Fair enough. Let’s go. Pierrot, if you’re listening, lock down the compound. No one goes in or out until Thaddeus or I return. Anabel, watch that gate until it closes and then go give Pierrot a hand because we need to make sure Monty wasn’t working with anyone else.”

“Already on it,” Pierrot said in her earpiece.

Sasha swung herself into the driver's seat and gunned the engine. She glanced at Amir. “Buckle up, Puppy Chow.”

Because they had a traitor to catch.