Page 4 of Fury

Damien turned to him, his eyebrows raised. "This week, huh?" he coughed. "More like this month."

"I'll take care of it today." Not that it mattered. He didn't need or want guests and if the smell offended them, that was fine by him. Maybe they'd leave sooner.

"I've got a job for you."

To his surprise, he actually perked up at his alpha's words. Although in hindsight he should have known he was about to get saddled with something shitty. There seemed to be a conspiracy amongst his pack on trying to keep him too busy with stupid crap to deal with his plans for revenge.

"I was planning to go into town today." Not exactly a lie, since he was itching to get off the island and start tracking down the assholes responsible.

Fucking hunters. They seemed to have dedicated their lives to killing his kind. This time the pack would strike back hard enough to get a message through their idiotic skulls.

Damien shook his head. "Not today. We need you here. We've got a bigger problem that takes precedence over your constant thirst for revenge."

Sawyer bared his teeth and let out a low growl before he could stop it. "I can't imagine anything more important than finding the fuckers who took out the club. We must retaliate quick and fierce. The longer we wait, the harder it will be. Losing that business was a huge blow and if we don't deal with it sooner versus later, it's only going to get worse."

The alpha nodded. "It was a blow to the pack, there's no denying that. In many more ways than simply financial."

Sawyer winced again, knowing exactly which ways he referred to. The stench of pity hit him hard, coming across sharp and acrid to his nose. "I don't need that from you." He lowered his voice out of respect. "Not from anyone. But especially not you." He glanced away for a moment and took a deep breath before he continued. "I don't regret what I did. Never that."

"I agree. Watching Dani flourish as her babe’s arrival draws close has been a true joy. What you did in saving her, by extension, saved us all."

"Then why the hell am I getting pity from you? That's bullshit."

Damien’s eyes widened. "Maybe you need to check that attitude. Sorrow for what happened to you is not the same as pity. The pack is extremely grateful for what you did. Your sacrifice will never be forgotten."

"I'd rather the whole thing was forgotten. I’m sick of this being a constant issue." He waved his hand in front of his scarred body. "This is not important compared to protecting what's ours."

"That does include you, you know." Damien pushed some papers off one of the kitchen barstools and took a seat.

Sawyer cringed. Apparently, Damien wasn't leaving any time soon.

He fought not to shake his head. If that was the case, then he needed to change the subject. His anger was hard to control on a good day. This was not going to be a good day.

"So what are we doing about the asshole hunters who are responsible for the bomb at the club?"

Damien shook his head. "While I appreciate your single-minded pursuit and determination towards this issue, we have got to approach this carefully."

Sawyer nearly exploded. "Seriously? I think the time for careful is past. We need to strike now. This constant waiting is bullshit."

Damien narrowed his eyes again. "Careful, Sawyer. I may be grateful for what you've done and concerned about your welfare, but that doesn't mean I'll put up with your disrespect."

He shut his eyes against his alpha's stern warning. Partly so he could try and get his shit together and so the other man wouldn't read his expression if he couldn't tone it down and did something stupid like roll his eyes.

"That's not what I meant." He finally said after several long breaths. "I just—FUCK—I'm pissed off and my instinct is to get out there and do something about it. Can you blame me? Sitting here with my thumbs up my ass is driving me batshit."

Damien clapped his back. "Not at all. But in this you have to trust me and my brothers that we know what we're doing. You do trust us, right?"

He didn't hesitate from nodding his head. Trust wasn't easily earned, but in this case it had been given freely a long time ago. "I do." He lifted his head and opened his eyes. "But if you aren't here to enlist my help in going after the bastards, why are you here?"

"Believe it or not, we've got bigger problems than hunters right now and I need your help."

His interest peaked. "What is it?"

"The Feds. Particularly one who seems hell bent on finding out the whole truth about what happened here on the island."

"Why in hell would they care about us? This is private property." He paced back and forth in his tiny kitchen as he tried to make sense of this news.

"That's what I need you to find out. Their lead investigator arrived this morning and is poking around the island and demanding answers. She seems hell bent on talking to every single resident and it's got everyone on edge. If we don't find a way to appease her and get her off the island soon, I'm afraid what kind of damage could be done. She'll spook everyone."

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