Page 127 of Visions, Paws, and Claws

Jake froze. “My what?”

“Fielding gave orders that you were to be shot. Today, probably, while he had a ringside seat.”

Ice surrounded his heart. “That cold-hearted excuse for a— Why? Why go to the trouble of testing me six ways from Sunday only to have me taken out?”

“Maybe he saw you as a threat.”

“Me?”

“Specifically, your… talents.”

Jake stilled. “Oh. Okay, you might have something there. I’m pretty sure that’s why they’ve kept me alive and imprisoned so long. So what’s the thinking? He was going to eliminate me before I could use my gifts to… what, discover something?”

“I’ll introduce you to Aelryn. He’s a Fridan leader, and he wants us to go searching for a tomb, of all things, that he says could be important.” Horvan scowled. “I should think Fielding wouldn’t want you finding out about his nasty little secret weapon.”

“What secret weapon?”

He sighed. “You’re not gonna like this. The Gerans’ breeding program included Dellan, all the while he was in that fucking glass cage. And… well, they took one of his children, a boy, and….”

“And what?” Jake listened in growing horror as Horvan told him about the grandson he had no idea existed.

The grandson who sounded like a fucking abomination.

Jake swallowed. “Where is Alec? Do you know?”

Horvan shook his head. “No one does. Butyoumight be able to find that out. Because once we get to Brunswick, there’s gonna be an… interrogation you might wanna be part of. If you feel up to it. I know you’ve been gone a long time, and maybe all you want to do is rest, relax, and reconnect with the people in your life. No one would blame you for that.”

“Feel up to it? Questioning that….” Cold fury surged through him. “I’d consider it payback. Just let me at him.”

“There’s something else.” Horvan pointed to two guys sitting together, both of them muscular and menacing. “That’s Saul Emory, joint team leader, and the guy on his left is Crank, one of my team and a damn good man. They’re human, but their mate is a shark shifter. And he’s been taken by the Gerans. We don’t have a clue where he is, and they’ve given us some bullshit about exchanging him for a Geran captive that we don’t evenhave. But Fielding might know where he is, or at least have an idea where to start looking.”

Jake stared across the plane’s interior to where Seth lay sleeping. “You might consider bringing Seth in on the interrogation too.”

Horvan nodded. “Two heads are better than one, don’t they say? So two psychics have gotta be a force to be reckoned with.”

Jake was now a man on a mission—to delve into Fielding’s mind and learn everything he could. He had a grandson to save—if Alec could be saved—and a lot of secrets to uncover. It was time to unravel this whole bunch of bullshit, and starting from the top seemed like a very good idea.

He also had to get to know the man his son had become.

NAVAL AIRStation Brunswick in Maine had been officially decommissioned in 2011, Horvan told him, but Aelryn had taken it over about two years ago. The original aircraft hangar had burned down, leaving only the main buildings. By the time the C-17 landed on the airstrip, buses were waiting on the tarmac, ready to take the former inmates to a place of safety once they’d had a medical checkup.

It was easy to spot where Fielding was being kept: The building had armed guards on the doors.

Is that to keep him from getting out, or us from getting in?Jake imagined Brick would love to spend a few minutes with Fielding.

He didn’t think Fielding would be so happy about it, however. He’d be lucky to escape with his limbs intact.

“Dad?”

Jake gave himself a mental shake. “Sorry. I must’ve zoned out. Did you say something?”

Dellan smiled. “I said I don’t think we’ll be here long. Aelryn’s got food waiting for everyone in the main building, andas soon as you get the all-clear, we’ll be back in the C-17, on our way to Homer Glen, in Illinois.”

“Is that where you live?”

“It was the house Tom built for Mom, and it’s your home now, for as long as you want to stay. Jamie’s, too. And if we don’t have the room, we’ll add on to the house.”

“Don’t go to any trouble on my account,” Jake admonished. “You have your own life to lead with your mates. You don’t want me hanging around.”

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