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The video showed Kyle and three other men getting out of a sedan on the main street of North Crest. One of the men was Dallas.

I watched, with dawning horror, as the group walked up to a man who was sweeping the sidewalk in front of a shop.

They pushed him against the wall. The older man stumbled backward, and Kyle pressed a hand to his chest, his face close to the other man’s.

Some words were exchanged, and eventually the store owner pulled his wallet out and handed over what was inside.

After counting it, Kyle shoved him again and pointed into the store.

The guy hustled inside and returned a few minutes later with a bigger stack of money.

This appeased Kyle. He handed the stack off to Dallas, who tucked it away in his jacket pocket before the group departed, leaving the store owner shaking.

“Son of a bitch,” Trent muttered from behind me.

“I told you Dallas was in on this,” Avery hissed in disgust.

I couldn’t argue. It broke my heart to see my half-brother doing Kyle’s bidding. I was just glad Farrah wasn’t here to see it.

“There’s more,” Zayde said, clicking through some more videos.

Kyle’s goons physically assaulting townsfolk. Kyle threatening the guy I’d met at the coffee shop. Another video showed Dallas and another guy cornering a guy in a parking lot. When they were done, the guy looked shaken and terrified.

“Jesus Christ,” I muttered, wiping a hand across my mouth.

Avery glared at the screen, watching Dallas threaten some helpless man.

Her expression was pinched and angry. All her suspicions were being confirmed, and I had to admit, it didn’t look good.

Maybe Farrah and I had been wrong about Dallas?

If that was true, it meant Ashton was in even more danger than I’d first thought.

Deep down, I’d hoped that with Dallas nearby, he’d do his best to keep Ashton safe until whatever agreement Kyle wanted could be made.

But if it had all been an act, and Dallas was only playing the part of the unwilling, then God only knew what he was capable of.

In fact, that might make him more dangerous than Kyle.

“Show him the worst part,” Langston said.

“You mean this isn’t the worst part?” I asked.

“We fucking wish,” Porter said.

Langston closed the other camera thumbnails and brought up another. This one didn’t appear to be from the street cameras as before. It was a private security cam that showed what looked to be a breakroom of some sort.

“Where the hell is this?” I asked.

“Close-circuit security footage from a small bakery in downtown North Crest,” Zayde said. “No clue how it ended up with the rest of the stuff. It was in the same trash file as the others. Good news is, unlike the others, this one has audio.”

On screen, a middle-aged, balding man sat shivering in a chair. I doubted it was from the cold—more likely, it was from the fact that six large men stood around him, Kyle and Dallas among them.

“Mr. Giles,” Kyle said, mild and businesslike. “I’m very disappointed in you. I thought we had an agreement.”

“I tried,” Giles said. “I really did, but business is down. That sandwich shop in Harbor Mills started baking their own bread in-house, which cut into my revenue. I simply didn’t have the money last month. Please.”

“Last month?” Kyle said as he rolled his sleeves up. “And what about this month? You still haven’t paid me. So explain to me, why should I let you off, when all the other people in town pay their taxes and fees to me on time?”

Kyle punched him, his knuckles smashing against Giles’s cheek, making the seated man’s head rock back. Blood appeared on his split lip.

“Oh, God,” Giles whimpered. “I’m sorry. I… I’ll pay double next month. I swear. Don’t hurt me.”

My blood ran cold as I watched how clinical Kyle and his group were, like torturing a man for money was the most natural thing in the world.

“You know what happens to people who don’t pay, right?

” Kyle said. “If I let you off, then it starts a chain reaction. The folks start to talk. ‘He let Sam Giles off this month, maybe that means I don’t have to pay this month.’ I can’t have that.

” Kyle shook his head. “No, I can’t have that at all.

” Kyle snapped his fingers at one of his men. “Hal, bring me the case.”

A bigger man vanished from the screen, running to grab whatever Kyle wanted.

“Holy shit,” Trent said. “Are we about to watch a fucking snuff film?”

Langston sighed wearily. “I almost wish we were. Just wait.”

The man handed Kyle a small case. Kyle unzipped it and pulled out what looked like a hypodermic jet injector. He held the pistol-like object up in front of Giles.

“You see this? I’m going to show you what happens to liars. Because that’s what you are, Giles, a liar. You promised to pay, and now you aren’t. In my book, that’s the same as a lie.” Kyle glanced at his men. “Hold him.”

The others, Dallas included, rushed forward and grabbed the man. Giles, eyes wide with panic, began to scream and shout for help.

“Help me! Dear God, someone help! Help! ”

Kyle jammed the nozzle of the injector against the side of the man’s neck and pulled the trigger. Giles went rigid, face red, mouth open in a silent scream of pain as he slid to the floor, convulsing.

“Oh my God,” Stormy said, covering her mouth with her hand. She and Avery looked horrified. Tears shone in Avery’s eyes, but her gaze was transfixed on the horror unfolding on screen.

“What was that?” I asked. “What did he inject him with?”

Langston turned to look at me as the man on screen continued screaming.

“We’ve got no fucking clue.”

On screen, Giles began to seize. His jaw was clamped tight, lips pulled back, drool running down his chin in strings. I’d never seen someone in such agony. I gasped as the screams stopped, replaced by the howl of a wolf. Giles’s body shifted, warped, and twisted, until a wolf lay on the ground.

“What the hell?” Trent said.

Before anyone could speak, the sound of Kyle’s voice on the computer cut through.

“Goddamn it!” he shouted, kicking the wolf, eliciting a sharp yelp from the animal. Kyle threw the injector at one of his men. “He’s nothing but a normal fucking wolf. He’s supposed to turn into a shifter. Tell the doc we need to work on this formula.”

Kyle turned in a circle, hands on his hips, and a moment later, he was staring right into the camera.

“What the fuck is that?” he yelled, pointing toward the camera.

“Sorry, boss,” one of his men said. “I thought we cleared the place before we started.”

“Find that footage and delete it with the rest. Get rid of it, or I’ll have your ass.” Kyle kicked the wolf again. “And dump this prick off in the woods somewhere. Maybe he’ll do better as the animal he is out there.”

Zayde stopped the footage and put his head in his hands.

“He turned a human into a wolf?” I said, turning my slack-jawed face to Langston.

The other man’s voice was husky and gruff when he spoke. “Yeah. I didn’t think that was even possible, but this shows what Kyle is capable of.”

“Where did he get that stuff?” Trent asked. “Even in the military, I never heard of something that could turn a human into a shifter or a wolf. This guy’s in some deep and crazy shit.”

“As far as I know, no one has ever heard of it,” Langston said.

“So that old lady was right,” I added. “Kyle is way more than some small-time crook. Anyone can intimidate people for money. He’s got to be into some really dark shit to have access to this kind of drug or serum or whatever it is.”

“And that means this asshole is way more dangerous than any of us thought,” Porter said.

Avery was shaking, her hand covering her mouth, eyes glued to Zayde’s dark computer screen.

She looked so devastated, and I knew she was imagining what Kyle was doing to Ashton.

I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close to me.

She didn’t resist. Instead, she sank into me, burying her face in my chest. I stroked her hair, rubbing soothing circles on her back.

“It’s gonna be okay,” I said. “It’s all right.”

Avery’s head jerked up, teary eyes blazing with panic. “But it’s not, Cole,” she said, her voice wet with tears. “What if he’s experimenting on Ashton? What if that fucking psycho is injecting him with whatever that shit is?”

I’d had the same thought. My heart slammed in my chest, fear seeping into my bones. I’d promised myself that I’d keep my head, and that was exactly what I planned on doing. Avery, however, was too consumed with terror.

She pulled away from me, pulling at her hair as tears streamed down her face. Stormy rushed to her side and got her settled on the couch, rocking with her as she cried.

“My baby,” Avery cried. “I need to get my baby back. Oh my God. Cole, please.” She looked up at me, an animalistic misery in her eyes. “Please bring him home. Get our baby boy back.”

She was on the verge of a breakdown. I didn’t know how much more she could take.

The images we’d seen on the screen, the shouts and screams of agony that had come from that poor soul echoed through my mind, and I was sure Avery was experiencing the same thing.

Except in our heads, it wasn’t a stranger named Sam Giles screaming. It was Ashton.

I could almost picture him strapped to a table in a warehouse or lab, with Kyle standing over him, lowering the injector until it was pressed against his neck.

Grimacing, I forced the thoughts aside and knelt in front of Avery. She was still crying, but her sobs had subsided. I cupped her cheeks and gazed into her red-rimmed eyes.

“Avery, look at me,” I said, summoning all the control and strength I had.

She peered into my eyes as she sniffled and hiccupped.

“I am going to get Ashton back. I will not stop until he’s home. I will lay waste to anyone or anything that tries to stop me. I’ll fucking demolish the entire world if I need to, but he is coming home.”

The confidence in my voice surprised the hell out of me, considering how down and dejected I’d been just an hour before.

Part of it came from my own deep desire to have my son come home safe and sound—my fatherly instinct had kicked in at high gear and stoked the flames of my anger.

The other part came from watching my half-brother participating in such God-awful things.

I’d never felt such rage. Farrah and I had thought the best of him.

We’d been so sure Kyle was forcing him to do the things he did, that he’d threatened Dallas with death.

Be that as it may, some things were worse than death.

Some things had to be fought against. I understood that.

I would die for Ashton, Avery, my sister, or Trent.

I’d do everything I needed to make sure the people I loved were safe.

Helping Kyle do what he was doing, creating whatever drug he was using?

Dallas should have fought against that, regardless of his own safety.

Sometimes there were things worth dying for.

If Dallas couldn’t see that, then he was a coward.

If he was helping Kyle willingly, then I’d put his ass in the ground along with Kyle if need be.

“What’s the play, Cole?” Trent asked.

I caught his eye, then glanced at the others.

In the space of ten minutes, Langston had gone from an outsider I was threatened by to an ally who could help me save my son.

I could only hope that Langston and his friends were ready to do what needed to be done.

If we wanted to get Ashton back, we’d need to be as ruthless and dangerous as Kyle. Fight fire with fire.

“We rain down hell on this fucker.”