Page 246 of Secret Shifters Next Door

Brenden nodded. “Yes, sir. Sorry, sir. We’ll keep working.”

The video cut and the final clip was of Chris. He was sitting in front of his laptop, staring into the webcam. His hair was in disarray, and he looked like he was on the verge of a breakdown.I had a sudden, crushing flash of regret for having dragged him into this whole mess.

“Um…hey, Miles,” Chris said. “I’m not entirely sure what you’ve sent me to investigate, but this is way more intense than I thought it would be. Listen.” He ran a hand through his messy hair. “If you’ve seen all the videos, you know this is some next-level, Area Fifty-One type shit. It’s fucking Antonio Lowry running this…whatever the hell it is. That dude has more than enough money to erase my ass. That’s why I’m putting these together. I have to get the proof to someone else. I’ll send it as soon as I can, but I’m heading out for one more look. If you don’t hear from me again, it’s because I was caught. Hope I talk to you again, old friend.”

The video cut, and I stared at the screen in horror. I glanced around the room and saw my friends were equally as disturbed. Steff was leaning against the wall, his head hanging, Blayne was beside me, face in his hands. Tate was standing at the other side of the room, arms crossed.

Tate looked at me. “They’re experimenting on shifters and humans? What the hell are they thinking?”

I leaned back in my chair. “They’re trying to replicate the curse.”

“What?” Blayne asked, head snapping up.

“The curse. They know we can change our mates into shifters. They’re trying to replicate that effect on their soldiers. They want the strength and speed, but without losing their humanity. It’s not fucking possible, but they’re trying.”

“Are we sure it’s not possible?” Tate asked.

The question hung in the air, menacing and nightmarish. I remembered the strange bodyguard. Could they have done it? Was that what he was? Some bastardized hybrid of human and shifter?

Before any of us could contemplate that scenario, my phone rang. It was Chris again. I sighed with relief. He’d gotten away. At least he was safe. I answered on speaker so the others could hear.

“Chris? Are you okay? Where?—”

“Your friend is here with me, Mr. Kelly,” Antonio Lowry said.

The earth dropped out from under me. Antonio had Chris. Jesus. Things had gone bad so fast, the entire world was spinning.

“I don’t know how your little spy was able to infiltrate my facility, but he’s going to pay with his life,” Antonio said, spitting the words out. “And you’ll turn over everything he sent you. Is that understood? Every file, every video, every email, everything. If you don’t, I’ll make one call. I have a man with eyes on your precious whore of a mate. I call him? He pulls his trigger, and she gets a nice fat silver bullet in her head.”

Eyes on Celina? Someone was at the apartment? My heart was hammering in my chest as panic and rage fought for equal footing inside me.

“I take it your silence is acquiescence?”

I growled into the phone, deep and pissed. It was a sound that any sane man would fear. The problem was, the evidence Chris sent showed that Antonio was anything but sane.

“Is that how you filthy mutts speak? Was that agreement?” Antonio asked. “I’ll have someone pick up the drive. Make sure you include any copies you might have made. You and your little pack should brace for what’s to come. I assure you, come hell or high water, I will end the shifter race once and for all. If Mr. Mills is there, make sure he knows I’ll be the one who chokes the life from him with my own hands. I’ll cut his cock off first, of course. Have the drive ready for pick up. I’ll text you the location.”

Antonio ended the call before I could say anything. I grunted and clenched my phone in my fist so hard I wouldn’t have beensurprised if it had broken. The others were looking at me, their faces masks of the same rage that filled me. My own mind was now leaping and racing back to thoughts of Celina. She was in danger. That was to be expected, but if Antonio was to be believed, she was in even more danger than I’d ever imagined.

TWENTY-NINE

CELINA

The sound of knocking on my door woke me. I rolled over and heard my phone buzzing. Well, wasn’t I the popular girl this morning? The clock on the nightstand showed that it was almost ten in the morning, which meant I’d slept almost twelve hours. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d slept that long apart from the other day when Miles and I had conked out for fifteen hours. It surprised me that I was still tired.

I swung my legs off the bed and saw the note Miles had left me. It said he’d gone to work. That must be him at the door. He’d probably forgotten something. I stood and wrapped my robe over my pajamas and shuffled to the door, ignoring my phone. As I opened the door, I was thinking to myself that I needed to get Miles his own key. Or should I move in with him?

The thought was still echoing through my head as the hulking figure outside my door slammed a cloth bag over my head and yanked me off my feet. I was over his shoulder before I could even register what was going on. I was being kidnapped. Fear flooded my body with adrenaline. I slammed my fists into the guy’s back and screamed for help. He was taking the stairs fast, two at a time at least. Each step slammed me back downinto his shoulder, the breath bursting from my lungs, making it hard to keep screaming.

I even tried to clear my thoughts and shift like I’d done last night, but the fear made it impossible to focus and connect with my wolf. It was there, and angry as hell, but I couldn’t get it to help. The fear I felt was overwhelming.

I fought for a breath and screamed for help again. My kidnapper shook me and growled. “Shut the fuck up, and you won’t get hurt. Otherwise I’ll give you a reason to scream.”

The voice sounded familiar, and the venom in it told me he wasn’t lying. I stopped screaming but didn’t quit fighting. I kicked and punched all the way until he lowered me off his shoulder and tossed me into the back seat of a car.

“You asshole! Did you hurt her? I’ll have your ass if you hurt her,” Felicity screamed as she pulled the bag off my head.

“She’s fine,” the bodyguard said as he slid into the driver’s seat. “I’ve got some new bruises thanks to her. Glad you asked.”

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