Page 57 of Unbonded (Pack’s Companion #3)

Pure, primal anger sparks in my hindbrain.

It’s like the static that hums in the air, seemingly without a source, but invading every corner of your mind.

I have to keep reminding myself not to follow it, like pulling on the thread will unravel the fabric of the cage I keep myself in.

As Lachlan said, I can’t afford to freak out.

They need me sharp. Fierce, but focused.

Because this is clearly an abduction, and I have to get a step ahead of their plan.

Money. It always comes down to cash, whether in a bank account or a duffel bag.

I know this better than most. My life is ledgers, quotes, invoices, and receipts.

I read financial forecasts like other people read their horoscopes, and I feel the mood of markets through the newspaper ink under my fingertips.

But this money trail… I can’t see it yet, and that makes my hindbrain pulse with frustrated fury.

Because there’s another voice whispering at me from the small print.

If I’d shown myself, if her enemies knew I was a beast in a bad suit, would they have dared take her from me?

“If I'd claimed her, we might know where she is right now.”

Lachlan clicks his tongue at me, and I taste a new energy in his scent as he returns to my side. Determined. Sharp. Just like he told me to be. “We can do the hindsight thing later. Tell me, what’s the plan?”

The plan.

To find her and kill them. The first quickly, the second as slow and as painfully as possible.

“Curtis will get the coffee shop’s CCTV footage, any license plate numbers in the vicinity, and then hack whatever databases we need for an address.

I’ve put a call in to Perry, my FBI contact, who confirmed that King’s club is still shut down and a patrol has been sent around to check the premises.

He’s also talking to some of his contacts on the street, checking to see if King has set up somewhere new.

His legitimate business is close to bankruptcy, so he is probably trying to scratch up some funds elsewhere. ”

My fists open and close in an angry spasm and Lachlan’s panic spikes. “What is it, Bram?”

“I… had a hand in fucking him up. Financially, I mean. If I caused this, by making him reckless enough to snatch her in broad daylight…”

“ King caused this,” he counters, squeezing my arm.

“He’s the one who crossed the line, and long before you met him.

Hell, lay the blame on Lee’s doorstep, if you need to, because I sure as hell do.

” He grinds his teeth and stares at his bruised knuckles, like he’s relishing the sight.

“I plan on punching that motherfucker every time I see him, so a little financial ruin is tame by comparison.”

Tame. I know he’s trying to assuage my guilt, but he’s hit a raw nerve.

Should I have done more? Should I have staked out King’s business, followed him home, tied him to a chair, and given him a warning he’d never forget?

Would we be in this position if I had put down the pen and picked up the sword?

Violence has its place, or we’d never go to war.

Bullies would rule the planet, and the rest of us would be grease powering the machine.

I know this, theoretically. But other than a couple of run-ins over the years, I’ve never had to resort to violence.

Guys like me just don’t get picked on, especially in the boardroom of a billion-dollar empire.

“Dash wants to talk to you.” I’ve been so lost in my head, I didn’t hear Lachlan’s phone ring. But I can definitely hear my omega’s voice chirping angrily from the device. “Ah, he wants me to put him on speaker.”

I nod, and the next moment Dash’s panicked voice is bursting into the room. “Listen to me, Bram Webber. You are my alpha, and I’m telling you what you need to hear. Kate is yours to protect, and that trumps everything else you care about.”

“I know that, sweetheart.”

“No, listen to me!” He’s shouting, but the panic is clear in his voice, not to mention the bolts of terror lighting up our bond.

“I don’t give a flying fuck if you spend your time shifting money around in your fancy office and writing reports about the market in China.

You are an uber alpha . That means you hunt down these fuckfaces, and you make them pay! Do you hear me?”

I’m purring so loudly they can probably hear me in China. “That’s the plan, sweetheart.”

He takes a breath, caught between a growl and a sob. “Good. You’ll get it done?”

“I won’t let you down, Dash.”

“I know. I just… feel so fucking helpless.” He sniffs, and I can feel his anger softening through the bond. “I’m sorry I yelled at you.”

“No, it’s good. I needed to hear your voice.” Not only because it soothes my beast to know he’s safe, but because it’s a good reminder that I need to bring Kate home, or he’ll never forgive me.

“Okay, because you get that I’m giving you permission.” At this stage, it’s written in neon all over our bond, but he still sounds like he thinks I need convincing. “For whatever it takes, Bram. I won’t ever judge you.”

“Message received, Omega.”

“Hmm.” Our bond pulses with a darker emotion. “I want you to use that voice again, but only after you’ve unleashed terror on those assholes. Bring her back to me, Bram, even if you have to command the entire police force to help you.”

“I will.” He rings off, but Lachlan is still staring at the black screen. “What is it?”

“I should have mentioned it before…” He lifts troubled eyes my way.

“A guy commanded me on the street. He pulled up beside Katie and me when we were on our way to meet Dash. He said they had a mutual friend and offered her a ride, even though he was sketchy as hell. When I told him to fuck off, he put me on my knees.” The color drains from his face. “He knew her name, Bram.”

Fury rolls through me, but I try to tamp it down. If Dash can feel me as clearly as I can feel him, he doesn’t need me rage-bombing our bond.

“King still seems like the obvious perpetrator,” I say slowly, but my fingers are flying across the keyboard, accessing a folder on my private server.

I open an encrypted document labeled ‘personal tax’ and run my eye down the list of assholes who’ve crossed my radar recently.

“But King had partners in the club. Jacobs, Palko, Brennan. Any of those familiar?”

He shakes his head, and I email the list to Curtis to crosscheck the names. Before I can second-guess myself, I pick up my cell and call his contact, Patrick. He doesn’t bother with the phone tag game this time, and I grind out, “The threat was real. Someone’s taken my jewel. Any word on Emerald?”

“Jesus.” He clears his throat, and the background noise disappears behind a closed door.

“Quinn’s second cousin moved Stateside six months ago.

I wasn’t informed, because he’s lived in England for years, which makes them barely related in my book.

He’s a nasty fucker called Joseph Brennan.

Still trying to work out his beef with you… ”

Brennan. My heart sinks while I feel my beast rise. “Don’t bother. It was financial, but now he’s made it personal.”

“Word is he’s trafficking in omegas.” Disgust coats Patrick’s voice. “That makes it personal to my pack as well.”

Visions of Irish gangs tearing into each other – while Kate is collateral damage – makes rage burn in my throat like a hot coal. “Thanks, but I’ve got this covered.”

There’s a click at the other end and I think he’s hung up on me until I hear the distinctive sound of a gun being cocked.

“I don’t give a rat’s arse if you’ve covered it in gift wrap and tied it with a pretty bow, Webber, my pack’s still coming to the party, Now, do you want the address to their fecking warehouse, or not? ”

Convincing Lachlan to stay home is a lost cause, but my heart sinks when Corbus appears in the foyer, dressed in the closest thing to battlewear he has in his closet.

I rake my gaze over his leather jacket and tactical pants, both turned on and alarmed by the sight of military boots on his elegant feet. “You’re not coming, Corbus.”

He arches a perfect brow at me. “And how exactly do you plan to stop me?”

I grind my teeth, because I don’t have any right to deny him, even if every cell in my body is screaming to lock him in the basement vault. “We follow the plan,” I tell him, resting a hand on Lachlan’s nape. “Anything goes sideways, you cover each other and get the hell out of there.”

They don’t argue with me, but I’m still on edge when we join Curtis and three of his guys in the parking garage.

A pair of SUVs are ready and waiting, and he climbs in with us while his men get in the other.

He’s all business as his driver exits the garage with the others in close formation.

“The warehouse is in Queens. It’s a chop shop for a local gang, but on the weekends Brennan and his associates use the facility to hold omega auctions.

That’s good and bad news for us. Good, because it means they have both a format to follow and a clientele to protect, but bad because it probably means your packmate is on the auction block. ”

“Curtis,” Corbus says in a soft voice. “Perhaps we should focus on the good news.”

His gaze flickers my way, no doubt taking in the way my jaw is grinding my molars to dust. “Right. Well, Ruiz is ahead of us, liaising with Patrick’s pack.

They’ve got eyes on the warehouse, and are fairly certain we’re looking at half a dozen targets and double that for buyers and their protection.

They’ve broken up rings like this before and have a tried-and-tested play.

One of their guys is posing as a buyer, while the others sweep in and remove the omegas. ”

“We’ll be getting Kate out,” I tell him. “They can deal with the buyers, but I want King and Brennan.” I can always circle back to the other assholes at a later date and destroy them financially.

“Well, we can certainly put that on the table.”