He’d tried. Booze, women, and fighting . . . all failed. Zohar shook his head, clearing it before he jogged over to join Danko. “All set?” he barked as he arrived.
“Yes.” Danko looked him up and down, as if he expected to see him dripping in blood, or worse.
Zohar ignored the look, clasping his hands behind his back and walking back and forth in front of the assembled men. “We’ll have a fight on our hands. I’ve had dealings with this Alpha in the past, and he’s an asshole.” He paused, stopping and raising an eyebrow. “What’s new, huh? They’re all fucking assholes. But this one is a sneaky bastard and his Beta is a hard fucker that will attack without warning. Keep your wits about you. Got it?”
“Yes, Sir!” his troops yelled back, loud, clear, and full of enthusiasm. Hell, they were young and eager. Like he once was.
Now, all he wanted was to get the job done as quickly as possible and get out with his heart and soul intact. Was that even possible anymore?
Zohar shook his head, snapping out. “Load up. We’ve got to get going. I want to get this over and done with as quickly as possible.”
Danko stepped forward, issuing orders and assigning the men into the vehicles waiting for them. Within a few minutes they were loaded and on their way, Danko driving and Zohar riding shotgun, one group in the truck behind them.
His friend remained silent for almost an hour, glancing frequently at Zohar, before finally asking, “Are you all right?”
“Sure,” Zohar replied, staring straight ahead.
“Really?” Danko pressed, his voice so low that only Zohar would hear.
“I’ll be fine once we find out who cast this damn spell,” Zohar reiterated his theory again. “Then I’ll tear his head from his body and all will be good again.”
“What if that’s not what ails you?” Danko mumbled and Zohar wasn’t sure if his friend meant to say the words aloud or not.
“It must be, Danko. There is no other—”
Danko interrupted, hissing across at him. “You know there is another reason for this, Zohar. You know.”
“Don’t be fooled.” Zohar shook his head, glaring across at his friend. “That is what this enemy wants. They want us distracted, daydreaming of something that is impossible for someone such as me. That would play right into their hands and I refuse to do that. There is a reason for this and that is what I must find out. Possibly a case that is about to drop into our laps and they want me off chasing a fantasy, instead of hunting them down. Think, Danko, is that not a more plausible explanation? Especially in our line of work and with the enemies we’ve accumulated over the years?”
Danko sighed, focusing on the dark road ahead. He remained silent for long minutes before he nodded curtly. “Possibly.”
“Let’s just focus on our assignment,” Zohar replied before settling his head back and closing his eyes, feigning sleep.
Danko wouldn’t be fooled and may even be offended at Zohar’s obvious snub, but Zohar could take no more discussion regarding his malady. Not if he didn’t want to punch his fist through the windshield.
Zohar didn’t expect to fall asleep, but he did. Danko waking him with a gruff voice. “We’re nearly there.”
“What?” Zohar asked, confused. “How long was I out?”
Danko looked over, scowling. “The first hour you pretended so you didn’t need to talk, the last five hours you have been snoring like a pig.”
“Five hours?” Zohar asked, shocked. He hadn’t slept for longer than a couple of hours straight in over a week.
“Yes, and we are almost at the camp.”
“Damn.” Zohar sat up, shaking his head to clear it and looking outside. “It’s daylight, not ideal. I’d prefer going in at dawn or dusk.”
“Do you want me to pull over and wait?” Danko asked, slowing down.
“No.” Zohar cracked his neck. “Let’s get this over with.”
“How do you want to do this? Go in hot?”
“Have the men fan out and remove any sentries first. After they’ve taken out any possible threat of attack from them, then we’ll go in on foot. Easy and slow, so we can get a measure of the camp and see what’s going on. We may get lucky and catch the Alpha and Beta alone.”
“Yeah, right,” Danko snorted. “When does that ever happen?”
“Rarely,” Zohar replied shortly. “However, there are women and children in there and I want to minimize the danger to them. We approach as I said and hope we manage to take the camp quickly, with no, or minimal, collateral damage.”
“We can only hope for that, my friend. These things rarely go as planned.”
“I’m well aware of that,” Zohar replied curtly. “But we can do our best to make it so. Ensure the men are aware of that.”
“As always, Zohar,” Danko answered.
Maisy cowered as her Alpha addressed the assembled Pack. His anger washing over them all, his eyes filled with rage as he glared at the women who’d been pushed to the front.
Her friend, Libby, held her hand, squeezing it when she felt Maisy tremble. “It’s okay, I’m here.”
“Shush, he’ll hear,” Maisy whispered urgently, desperate to keep Jermaine Skinner’s attention off them.
His Beta, Marlon, paced back and forward, leering at them and making Maisy’s skin crawl. She was sure she was going to throw up if he stopped in front of her. She’d seen him pause along the line and run his finger down another girl’s face. If he touched her she was certain she wouldn’t be able to hide her disgust.
Damn. That was just Marlon. What would she do if the Alpha picked her?
Fuck! This was because her
