CHAPTER NINE
I’D CHECKED to ensure I didn’t have a tail and had looped around one of seven different routes here. Lucas was nothing if not a stickler for keeping his safehouse exactly that. Even if it was a huge warehouse used for working rather than a homey place to crash.
I had a unique code and even a retina scan to get in. It was extreme, but I figured considering his time on this earth, he’d picked up a heap of knowledge and skills. Plus, he regularly geeked out with technology, so it all made sense.
I headed straight through to the secondary secure room. Apparently this was where all the magic happened—completely Lucas’s words. He was at the main panel, kitted out with a crazy number of screens. Some were linked to cameras around this place, a couple focussing on his base’s entry points. He also had a screen up indicating a guy called Lentwood—a name and face I wasn’t familiar with.
“All good?” I asked in the way of greeting.
“Let’s have a conversation, then perhaps rephrase your question.”
Crap. “Like that, huh?”
“Worse.”
Double crap. “Okay, hit me.” I pulled a chair out and sat off to his side. He swivelled and faced me.
He looked pale, more so than usual. His pale skin wasn’t a result of his vampirism, rather his Scottish roots. Not only that, he appeared exhausted. How was such a noticeable difference possible since I’d seen him just a few hours ago?
Rather than asking, I kept my mouth shut and waited for him to speak.
“I’ve been digging for a while.”
I raised my brows at that. Even though I had no idea into what, I wasn’t surprised. Lucas was the king of research and uncovering shit people would rather you left alone. He was also something of a conspiracy theorist, which sometimes made life interesting, but he’d research the hell out of something to either confirm or deny.
“Brent’s dirty.”
I froze. This was serious.
“I’ve always kept tabs on him, just because he’s an arsehole.” I snorted at that, and he offered a small smile before saying, “But since you left to join the ITU—”
My brows lifted high and my heart went a little crazy.
He shook his head and rolled his eyes at me. “As if I wouldn’t know about the ITU. Come on, give me some credit.”
I laughed. “Okay, and thank fuck for that, as it was bullshit not being straight with you.”
“I get it, but this is me. You should have figured I’d find out.”
True that. I indicated for him to go on; I was listening despite the loud beat of my heart trying to make that task difficult.
“Brent’s been on a big anti-Callen trip, more than usual. Not only that, but he’s been trying to access a restricted database, which I’ve discovered only two people have access to.”
“Thatch and Durrant?”
“You’ve got it.”
“Do you know just how far his dirt spreads?”
“I’m still digging, but shit… you’re not going to like this.”
Dread threatened to drop my gut. I steeled myself, wondering where he was going with this.
“There’s been an increase in shifter disappearances.”
“The girls?”
Lucas shook his head. “I heard about them, but no, that’s not what I’m referring to. Shifters from up north.” I stilled at that. “As in far north.”
My father’s pack, my old home.
“I’ve found communication between Brent and the Blackheath pack.”
“Fuck.” I swallowed hard, unsure how to feel. “Between my dad? About what? When?” I fired at him.
He waited patiently for me to refocus before he said, “Yes, with Lennon Blackheath. There’s been communication for at least five weeks, but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t been going on for longer. From what I can tell, it’s about the missing shifters.”
I grimaced. “And I can assume it’s not because my father’s been worried about shifter disappearances so has been helping the SICB?”
A barely perceptible shake of Lucas’s head prompted him to say, “Have you heard of any shifter disappearances from up north?”
“No.” My gut constricted. “Why haven’t we?”
“It’s all been completely off the radar. I’d be impressed as hell that something of this magnitude was able to be kept quiet if I wasn’t sick to my stomach.”
After focusing on my breathing while trying to get my thoughts together, I asked, “Just women and girls?”
“Only for the past month or so from what I can tell.”
“No doubt thanks to the discovery of what they did to Hazel.” Red-hot fury tinged with a desire to tear through not only Brent, but also my old pack for answers rode me hard. Lucas’s words cut through my haze.
“What? What about Hazel?”
Bowing my head, I knew I needed to tell him everything. Screw protocol. This was all too messed up. Yes, Lucas knew she was dead, murdered, and considering the nature of her death and her body’s location, a lot could be deduced. But official reports were not the truth.
My thoughts roamed to Thatch. I needed him here.
“You mind if I call Thatch and bring him in?” I understood what I was asking. And perhaps I was wrong, but this thing with Brent, let alone my father, was bigger than the two of us.
“You trust him.”
Lucas’s statement had me bobbing my head.
His eyes connected with mine, intense and curious. “And… you love him.”
My eyes sprang open so damn wide, Lucas’s snort of laughter made sense. After a moment of me gaping at him while trying to navigate through the impact of his words and whether or not my feelings went beyond lust and like, I settled on, “I have no idea how to answer that.”
Amused, he shook his head at me. “Well, hopefully when you do answer it, you won’t look quite as surprised as you do now.” His grin was wide. “Holy shit, you haven’t had sex yet!”
How the hell did he know that?
“Sex has always just been sex, right?”
I rolled my eyes, knowing he was absolutely right. I loved sex as much as every other guy,
