“Pops is sitting right here, and stop making me refer to myself in the third person, it’s fucking humiliating.”
“Sorry, Pops,” Bolt and I utter at the same time, both of us feeling shame for not including him in our conversation with one another.
“But, I have to agree with Bolt,” Pops announces, “out of all of us, I’d be the one he’d trust and possibly slip out something to.”
“We have to use all of our resources, Blaze,” Kane remorsefully states. “It is the only thing we have at our disposal right now.” Fuck, I hate it when he’s all logical and shit.
“Pops? Ma’s gonna have a damn stroke,” I state, feeling bad that my ma will be put through these paces. She was finally feeling settled and at peace with their retirement from all things club related.
“Son, I learned a long time ago that your ma doesn’t have to be in the know about everything I do. It keeps her in a happy little bubble. It’s my job to keep that from popping. Understand?”
“Sure, Pops. But I’m just putting this out there, if she ever, and I do mean ever finds out about this, I’m blaming you on keeping it from her,” I deadpan, meaning every damn word because my ma mad, is something I have always preferred to steer clear of. No one can give you a look and words from a sharp tongue and make you feel as low as dirt buried beneath the grass. She doesn’t need to place one finger on me to put me in my place, begging for forgiveness and admitting to all of my sins.
“Whatever you say, Son.” Pops chuckles, but he knows that I will solely point the finger in his direction. I’m not above throwing Pops under the bus.
Glory
I sit next to Dakota watching the live bidding. One girl just went for five hundred thousand dollars and I’m panicking, because neither mine nor the club’s offer was accepted on Maritsa. Which means, they believe that they can get more money for her. “Not many shifters have this kind of money sitting aside, Dakota,” I cry as I watch the numbers skyrocket for this man whose up right now.
“Decoder, Glory. And, they’re only selling to people who stand a lot to lose. Not only are these rich motherfuckers; they’re also ones who hold positions of power.”
“How do you know that?” I ask him, to which he simply raises his eyebrows at me. “Yeah, yeah, I know, you can find anything. But when have you had the time to search?”
“What do you think I’ve been doing over here while you're watching that?” He points at a secondary computer sitting off to the side. “It’s how I multi-task, I can have several windows opened on different systems. This way, nothing ever gets overlooked. I’m following the bidders’ IP addresses as they place their bids. They have more money than they know what to do with and need something to spend it on.”
“These are living, breathing people, Decoder! Not some antique piece up on the auction block.”
“Yeah, and most of them don’t have a mate or trophy wife to hold down the home front and escort them to charity events. They need someone they can mold and scare into the perfect specimen. I’m not saying it’s right, I’m just stating the facts and the way these folks think. I don’t agree with their methods, but they have positions and need to show that they are family-oriented people. It’ll keep them in good standing in their communities with those who’ve elected them into their positions of power. It’s in their best interest to be viewed, and perceived, as irrevocably dedicated husbands and fathers.”
“By inventing their own versions of a Stepford wife,” I mumble out. Thinking about what all that entails makes my stomach violently roll. It means that they’ll be brainwashed, hidden and tortured, until they give in and become the most compliant female or male companion.
“First round of auctions is over; we need to figure out who’s purchased whom so we can stop them in route.” Decoder picks up his phone and calls Blaze. Why he isn’t using his mental link with Blaze I don’t understand… it’d be so much quicker if he did. “Blaze, first rounds are complete. The ones who’ve been auctioned off will be leaving with their new owners.”
I block out the conversation he’s holding with Blaze and lose myself in thoughts. There has to be more we can do to make sure rounds two and three don’t come to fruition. I do manage to overhear and catch the key words as they talk. in our town, and traced it to the old McCrumb factory. They’ve been under our noses the entire time and we just now figured it out.
I hope Blaze and the brothers turn them all into ash.
193
Blaze
After getting off the phone with Decoder, I pick up the phone and give the coordinates of the auction to Chief Anderson. He’s been sitting in wait for us to call so he can set up roadblocks from all exit points from the warehouse where it’s being held. These dumb fucks actually thought they could do this in my town and escape unnoticed? They must think we’re a bunch of naïve and stupid assholes. Either that, or they want us to catch them… and that can’t be a good thing. “What if them doing this in our town is a set up?” I ask the men surrounding me. “What if they want us to catch them?”
“What could they accomplish from that?” Kane asks in contemplation.
“To take us out; we’re the only threat they really have left. They’ve got insiders that are pretty high up in both shifter and human government. If the Dark Leopards are taken out, there’s nothing holding them back,” Bolt insinuates.
“Which is why they took Echo. They wanted to entice us to come to them,” Pops states and suddenly it all clicks into
