Vali made an exasperated noise. “If you know, then why did you choke the cat out all of two seconds later?”
“Because you said not to kill anyone,” I reminded him. “Besides, it was boring as shit and probably a waste of our time. We should just snatch up whoever is in charge and beat the info out of him... or her.” I wasn’t one to discriminate. Dupree had proven all too well that women could be just as evil and despicable as men.
“And if this method doesn’t work soon, we will do that. But I’m interested to see if we can get further by infiltrating their operation first.” Vali rubbed a tired hand over his face. “At least there can’t be any doubts about you being a shifter after how easily you took a cougar down.”
“Ah,” I nodded. “I guessed cougar. Cats all look alike, don’t they?”
My older brother snickered. “Don’t let Tyson hear you say that; he’s not all cuddles and playfulness.”
I cracked a grin, agreeing. “He is Austin’s familiar after all. Moody bastard. Have to admit, though, since Austin and Vixen worked their shit out, he’s been a hell of a lot easier to be around.”
“Wesley told me he was pretty bad when you all first met Kit?” Vali quirked an eyebrow at me. “Something about his ex?”
“Yep,” I grunted. “Nasty piece of work that girl is. I still don’t know what the fuck she was doing at the gala—whether she was involved with Gray or if that was just a weird coincidence.”
“The twins have enough to worry about,” Vali pondered aloud while pacing the changing room. I had changed back into black jeans and was doing up my boots. “Maybe we can look into it if this fight club shit doesn’t take too long.”
“Agreed,” I said, standing up and buckling my heavy belt. “And if it turns out she was involved with Vixen being tortured...” I trailed off with a growl.
“We’ll rip her fucking head off,” Vali finished for me. “Let’s get back out there and see who wants to tell us anything interesting.”
Smiling at the thought of ripping Peyton’s head off, I found myself in a considerably better mood as I followed my brother. I liked to feel like I was helping, even if it was just going to make Austin’s life easier to know that bitch had been dealt with.
“Nice game face, bro,” Vali snickered as he pushed the door open and waited for me to precede him. This time I let the name slide. I just wanted to get the info we came here for, which was where the next level of this insane shifter club was being held—then get the fuck out. Vixen would be landing in Ireland soon, and I was anxious to know she was okay.
7
KIT
By the time our plane touched down in Dublin, I was exhausted. I hadn’t slept a single moment the whole flight, unable to shut my brain off as theories about the purpose the bracelet served and why my mother had given it to me marched through my head. It also didn’t help that Sam made crude jokes inside my head at every given opportunity.
“Any word from the guys?” I asked Wesley, rubbing at my tired eyes while we waited for our luggage. We’d flown because the twins had never tried teleporting anyone quite so far before and didn’t want to lose us into space or something—a fair enough concern.
“Nothing yet.” He shook his head and shifted his shoulder strap higher. His bag was loaded with his laptop, headphones, chargers, and more. It weighed an absolute ton. “I’m sure they’ll be in touch as soon as they know something, though.”
Caleb and Austin were chasing down Bridget in the hopes of squeezing some answers out of her, while Cole, Vali, and River were focusing on both Jonathan and the underground movement to publicize supernaturals.
As for Wes and I, we just needed to get our asses down to Glenganen. It was a five hour drive from Dublin and we were expected there in exactly five hours, so we needed to get a move on. This guy, who still hadn’t given us a name, didn’t sound like the sort of man who enjoyed being kept waiting.
We retrieved our bags and made our way through customs to the car rental desks. We were both travelling on fake passports, just in case Omega was watching. They had been made by Vali’s contacts, and I really could not have picked them out as anything less than real, save for the different names.
“Are you nervous?” I asked Wes while we stood in line at the Hertz counter. I snaked my hand into his free one, linking our fingers together and earning a small, tired smile from him.
He, too, hadn’t slept on the flight, but I suspected that had more to do with him not wanting to deal with his dreamtime visitor than anything else.
“Yeah, a bit,” he admitted with a shy smile. “Hopefully this guy can actually help us, though, and doesn’t turn out to be a massive waste of time.”
“If he does, we will just find someone else,” I reassured him, squeezing his fingers and pressing a kiss to his shoulder. “Now, are you sure you’re okay to drive?”
He gave me an appreciative smile. “I’ll be fine. But we can take turns if I get tired, right?”
“You bet,” I confirmed, grinning at his response. I loved that Wesley treated me as an equal, someone totally capable of driving a car despite my vagina.
Vali had made our reservations, so within a few minutes we were hauling our luggage out to a midnight-blue Range Rover.
Once we were inside with the heat blasting—because it was still cold despite being springtime—I plugged the address into the inbuilt GPS system, then sat back with a heavy sigh.
“You okay?” Wes asked me, resting his hand on the gear shift but not making any moves to start the car. “That frown has me worried, sweetheart.”
“Yeah.” I gave him a weak smile. “Just exhausted. Worried about this.” I held up my wrist encircled by the tight gold band. “Worried about what this trip is going to tell us... Did that creeper fucking with your dreams, Gaelin, give you anything useful in your nightly meetings?”
Wes shook his head. “Nothing. But I haven’t told him I was coming here, either. I get the feeling he’s on some sort of revenge-fueled power trip, and I’m collateral damage. Who knows what he’d do if I told him someone else might be able to help?”
“Makes sense.” I nodded. “I’m pissed that this douche is being such a...” I trailed off with a frustrated hand wave.
“Such a douche?” Wesley laughed. “Yeah, you and me both.” He leaned over, cupping my face gently with a cold hand and kissing me. “Let’s get on the road, and you can psychoanalyze everything he’s told me, again.”
“You say that like I’ve already done it a million times,” I grumbled as he followed the signs to get out of the airport parking lot and onto the freeway.
Wesley coughed a laugh. “Oh, you haven’t?”
“Whatever.” I grinned, whacking him lightly with the back of my hand as I got comfy in my seat. “Okay so, the first time he appeared in your dream he made a comment about you being the ‘first of your kind in hundreds of years’ or something like that, right?”
“Right.” Wes nodded, not taking his eyes off the road. He was such a safe driver.
“And that he was assigned to teach you how to control your powers?” I was repeating information he’s already given me, but wanted to double-check.
“Yup,” he confirmed.
I pursed my lips while I thought about this from a different angle. Wes was right that I’d already gone over this with him a hundred times. But I was convinced there must be more clues hiding somewhere.
“So obviously Gaelin isn’t in charge,” I murmured, and Wesley nodded.
“He sounds pissed as hell at being given the task of teaching me and is deliberately fucking around out of stubbornness.” He glanced over at me as we waited at a traffic light. “So hopefully this guy here can teach me how to block him out or something.”
“Or,” I pondered aloud, “teach you how to bypass Gaelin.”