Page 130 of Wolf's Mark

Todd nodded, his curious self, glancing at Daphne then asking questions with his eyes. Daphne knew better than to say anything at this point.

When he walked out, I ripped off my gloves.

“Agent Drummand is the person you were working with?” Marla asked.

“I wouldn’t say working with, but yes.” Why did I have the feeling something had happened to her?

I rubbed my hands down my scrubs, loathing the fact my hands were shaking. As I headed out of the lab, I tried to think of an even more plausible explanation for how the case had progressed. It was tough to fashion a big, fat lie.

The three men in the reception area weren’t exactly like seeing a modern-day remake ofMen in Black, but close. Two were wearing dark gray suits, one a dark blue, all three cheap in design just like their bad haircuts. Yes, it was just anotherstereotype, but I was tired of being bothered by an organization that truly had no clue what they were dealing with.

And I wasn’t going to inform them. That was way above my pay grade.

I also wasn’t that stupid. My guess was they were fishing.

“Gentlemen. How can I help you?” I asked with a pleasant smile on my face, but I was fairly certain they sensed I was mocking them.

“Doctor Willis. I’m Agent Walker. I’ve come to talk to you about the case you were working on with Agent Drummand. My co-workers are Agent Smith and Agent Jarvis.” The guy was as smug as a bug in a rug.

The other two were scanning behind me, trying to ascertain information themselves. Maybe my Wolfen was indeed kicking in. I could smell a different kind of danger. They reeked of it along with their bad aftershaves.

“As you might imagine given the nature of the case, I would prefer to talk with her.” I was polite, which surprised me given my level of exhaustion.

“I’m afraid that’s not possible,” Agent Walker said.

“Why is that? Is she on vacation or assigned to another case?” As soon as I asked the questions, the three men looked at each other. “Something happened to her. Didn’t it?”

“We’re not at liberty to say.” This time, Agent Jarvis answered. His voice was much gruffer.

I had a very bad feeling about this.

“What is this about, gentlemen? I did make it very clear with Agent Drummand that I didn’t want to have anything else to do with the case you’re working on. You need the kind of expertise I can’t provide.”

“I’m afraid you’ve overstepped your bounds, Doctor.” Agent Smith wasn’t nearly as nice as the other two.

“Meaning what?” Now I was getting angry. I sensed the others were standing in the hallway behind me.

Agent Walker smirked as he pulled two photographs from a file in his hand. “Do you recognize this gentleman, Doctor Willis?”

Well, shit. My sense of being followed had been correct, only werewolves hadn’t been the ones doing so. The two pictures were of Jax and me, both provocative enough it appeared we were lovers. “Jax Wolf is a friend of mine. So what?”

“So what, Doctor?” Agent Smith barked. “So you were made aware he is under FBI investigation for several offenses. You were also told not to have any contact with him and if you did, the act would be considered as an act of treason.”

Of course the language was ridiculous. “Bullshit, agents. I’m no fool and do know aspects of the law. And you need to tell me about Agent Drummand. What happened to her?”

“I assure you we know what we’re doing, Doctor Willis, and that is none of your business. Now, you’re going to need to come with us.”

The air in the room crackled with electricity. I could feel the heat rising as much as my anger level.

I snapped my head toward Agent Smith. “I’m not going anywhere. Tell me about Agent Drummand.”

“Then we’ll need to put you into handcuffs,” Agent Jarvis stated.

I got in Agent Smith’s face. He seemed to dislike me the most. “She’s dead, isn’t she? Agent Drummand is dead. Did you people kill her?”

While I was pressing my luck, I’d already lost my patience; they were planning on stonewalling me and that just wasn’t going to fly with me.

“Didn’t you?” I barked again.

---