Page 295 of Secret Shifters Next Door

“Sam,” I greeted.

“Blayne. Good to see you. You look good. This is my son Kyle. Gio sent us to talk to you. There’s been…” He and his son shared a look. “A bit of a development.”

“What kind of development?” Tate asked, leaning forward.

Sam and Kyle sat down before Sam spoke again. “This morning, around seven one of our…uh…informants stopped a suspicious car cruising near Mr. Kelly’s place.”

“Wait,” I said. “How did one of your guys stop a car?”

Sam looked uncomfortable at first, but then smiled. “Let’s just say Gio has a few guys on the payroll who…may or may not wear police uniforms.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” I muttered, but waved for him to go on.

“Hang on,” Miles said. “These guys were near my apartment?”

Sam nodded. “All our guys were briefed on what to look for. Our boys in blue thought it was weird and stopped them. Three guys in the van. Once they had them out and handcuffed, they found a bunch of assault rifles, surveillance gear, and most damning of all, a folder with pictures of all of you.” He pointed at each of us. “As well as your lady friends and kids.”

The temperature of the room seemed to spike. I knew the others had to be as full of rage as I was, probably more so. The anger billowed off us in waves. Sam and Kyle weren’t evenshifters and they could sense it. They shifted uncomfortably in their seats as they felt the energy in the room change.

“Where are they?” Steff asked through gritted teeth.

“Uh, well,” Sam said. “We got them in what you’d call a meeting room of sorts. Gio and us figured you’d wanna talk to them yourselves.”

“Damned fucking straight,” Miles said. I’d never seen him look more furious. He was usually the calming influence of our group. But the thought of his mate and unborn child being in danger had wiped that stoic calm away.

Sam nodded his head toward the door. “Then let’s go, boys.”

We grabbed our stuff and headed out the door, following them to the parking lot. A few of our security techs eyed us as we left, probably wondering what had enraged us.

Tate was the first one out, damn near ripping the glass and metal door off its frame as he pushed through it. Sam and Kyle got into a sedan, while the rest of us piled into Tate’s truck. We followed the Francis men in their car. Not a word passed between us. A quick glance around the car showed me all I needed to know. Barely suppressed rage, jaw muscles flexing, fists clenching and unclenching. If those three assholes knew what was coming for them, they’d be pissing their pants.

We followed the two men to the outskirts of town until we were in what looked like an industrial park. The sight of it filled me with déjà vu. It looked a lot like the place where we’d had the big showdown with Ryland.

Sam parked behind a small storage facility and got out. He waved us on and gestured for us to park beside him.

Tate got out and looked around. “Where’s the holding room?”

Sam nodded toward one of the larger storage units. “In there.”

Kyle pulled a key out and walked over to unlock and roll up one of the doors. Sunlight streamed in, revealing three men tied to chairs and squinting in the glare of light. They’d been sitting in total darkness for who knew how long. Two of them looked to be in their mid-to-late thirties, and the third guy was maybe twenty-three or twenty-four.

One of the older guys seemed to have heard my thoughts on the way over. His pants were wet from where he’d pissed himself. God knew how long he’d held it until he’d had to release his bladder.

The two Francis men looked at the hunters with no empathy. I had a brief flash of Liam going off to work. Was this the kind of thing he’d done back then? I didn’t want to think about it. I pushed those thoughts from my mind and reminded myself that these three pieces of shit had been staking out Miles and Celina’s place. With guns. Had they been getting ready to attack and kill her and the child she was carrying?

The very thought caused my lips to peel back and a deep growl erupted from my throat, joined by growls from my four friends. The sounds of the four of us growling reverberated through the storage unit, and Kyle and Sam both took a step back.

“These guys wouldn’t talk for us,” Sam said. “No surprise. They’ve been trained well. Gio didn’t want us getting physical with them, said you swinging dicks would wanna have a go first. So,” he gestured to the men, “do what you gotta do. The kid and I will stay outside, make sure no looky-loos get any ideas.”

Sam and Kyle walked out to patrol the area. I glanced at Steff. He had a hungry gleam in his eyes. We were about to make these guys wish they’d never set foot in Lilly Valley. Especially not to fuck with our families.

Miles lunged toward them, but Tate grabbed the back of his shirt and held him back. “Hang on. You’re too close to this one.Let’s push. I don’t want you gutting these assholes before we get answers.”

Miles glared at Tate for a moment before his features calmed. He inclined his head. “Yeah, you’re right. My wolf is fucking pissed. I don’t know if I can hold him off.”

I leaned against the wall and grinned at the men. They were listening to us talk about killing them, and all they could do was struggle against their bonds and grunt through the gags in their mouths. The younger guy and the older one who’d pissed his pants looked terrified. The other guy simply glared at Tate and Miles, almost daring them to do their worst with his eyes.

I pointed at that guy. “He’s the one we have to break.”

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