“Kane, go get with Decoder and see where he’s at. Let him know what we want him looking for. There has to be someone desperate enough for money to betray the organizers. I want to know how high up this goes; we need to chop the head off the head snake so the rest will crumble.”
“We are taking them all out, though, correct?” Bolt asks the question.
“Abso-fucking-lutely,” I tell him.
Glory
I’ve been keeping an eye on the website. I’ve come in as an anonymous bidder on Maritsa. I’ve rerouted my IP address to where it looks as if I’m making inquiries from overseas. My hope is that if I can win her bid, then I can give the location for the pick-up to the guys. They are looking at the bigger picture; my goal is to free my friend’s daughter and let the rest of the pieces fall apart once the men get involved. I’ve been splitting my time between work, taking care of Angela, doing my duties as the old lady of the president, plus making sure the homestead stays maintained. I’m doing three people’s jobs, and at the end of the day, I’m a walking, talking zombie.
Blaze has been taking his anguish out on my body every night, but I feel as if I’ve let him down by basically being a third party to our lovemaking. I’m there physically, but my mind is always elsewhere. If he’s noticed, he hasn’t said anything to me. But that’s the spectacular thing about mates. We know when to push a topic, and when to just show our love to one another and let the other one work out what’s plaguing their mind. Relationships are all about give and take, and these days, we’re both taking what we need from the other and giving the other the space we need to work through things.
Today, I’m solely concentrating on the bidding. Maritsa is up, and I can’t take my eyes off the competitors for even a split second. I may get outbid and that cannot happen. Her life as she knows it is at stake if I do. I hope she makes it out of this situation alive, human, and willing to never speak of the things she’s witnessed and heard while in captivity. If she’s a threat to our kind, we’ll have no choice but to turn her so that she will keep our closely guarded secret. If her life is on the line along with the rest of ours, she’ll have to be proactive to stay living.
All of these human women who’ve been kidnapped will have to be vetted before we can allow them to go back home to their families. It’s going to be a long process and we’ll have to find a shifter therapist to help them overcome the tragedy they’ve been trapped in. When Maritsa’s bid hits half a million dollars, I pick up my phone and text Blaze. He needs to be here to give me permission to outbid this person. The club will have to fund it, he and I don’t have that kind of money at our disposal. He texts me back immediately letting me know that I do not need to place another bet, that the other person is Decoder bidding on the club’s behalf. I chuckle at the fact that I was willing to go up against the club unwittingly. Leave it to my man and the club to be full of shocking surprises.
I knew Blaze wouldn’t let this go, but I had no clue he’d go to the extent of bidding for Maritsa’s survival. I’ve checked in on Angela as much as she’ll allow me to, but she’s a shell of the woman she once was. She only has a one-track mind these days; locating and finding her daughter. I feel like a horrible friend for not telling her what I know, but I can’t. It would put a price on my head with the shifter community if I divulge that information to her. I wouldn’t be the only one either; Angela, along with Blaze, would also be looking over their shoulders. I can’t, and won’t, do that to my old man. He’s my life; the day we crossed paths at a shifter retreat is the best day of my life. We knew immediately that the other was our mate; our senses were on high alert. We were drawn to each other instantly, the need to consummate was overwhelming.
Humans wouldn’t understand the sense of urgency we had to mark each other. Claim the other one with the other one’s scent. My memory floats into an oblivious state as the day resurfaces to flood the forefront of my mind.
187
Glory
Ten years earlier...
“Jax, slow down!” I yell at my childhood friend. He’s excited to connect with female shifters today, hoping that this will be the year that he finds his true mate.
“Come on, Glory! Aren’t you excited to meet the single men from other groups? This is the year, I feel it,” he exclaims excitedly. “I just know the two of us are gonna walk away this year with our mate by our sides.”
“Well, aren’t you the optimistic one,” I chuckle as my nose wrinkles with a scent that’s enchanting to my senses. Sandalwood, musk and chocolate! My three favorite things in the world. “Do you smell that, Jax?” He stops, lifts his face into the air, catching the breeze around us. He shakes his head negatively and looks at me as if I’ve grown a second head.
“What are you smelling, Glory? I smell the sunshine and fresh breeze in the air. Wait,” he sniffs again, “is that cotton candy?”
“Jax, there’s no cotton candy vendors here… I think your sense of smell is off,” I
