Page 86 of Coerced

“Um, Kerry?”

“Yeah?”

“You know that guy who came out of the portal first?”

“Yeah?”

“Well, I know who it is.”

My temper flaring, I bunched my fist into his shirt and leaned down until my nose was almost touching his.

“Where can I find him?”

“Whoa!” Rome came over and edged between us. “Calm down! You’re going to hurt him. Let him speak.”

I didn’t like how close Rome was getting, so I dropped Travis’ shirt and stepped back. I realized that was probably Rome’s intent, which helped me refocus, and I started to breathe again.

“His name’s Hubler,” Travis said. “Reginald Hubler.”

“TheReginald Hubler?” Rome whistled.

“You’ve heard of him?” I swung my head toward him.

“He’s in the news all the time.” He shrugged. “Wants to be the next president.”

He whipped out his phone and poked at it for a few seconds, then curved his hand for me to see.

“Yep. That’s him.”

And I’d just gotten the blue tint outta my skin, too. Now I had to start the calming process all over.

“He’s also very wealthy and very powerful.” Travis raised an eyebrow. “Made a fortune in real estate. He’s the CEO of several international corporations, has connections around the world, and is one of the most influential people in the country right now.”

“I’ll text Clem and see if he has any info on links between Hubler and the Sanctuary or nephilim in general.” Rome went to work on his phone again.

“Tell him about Castle, too.” I rolled my shoulders, still working on making myself safe. “Hubler called him that, anyway. Clem’s been looking for him.”

“Castle.” Travis looked puzzled. “I haven’t come across that name.”

“Me, either. Who is he?” Rome asked.

That’s right. He’d been unconscious for that part, and Gigi had already spirited Travis away.

“During the ambush, after Rome shifted into a snake, Castle caught me in a binding while Hubler went through the portal. I broke free as he was running for the portal, but it disappeared before I could get there.”

“How long has Clem been hunting Castle?” Rome looked up from his phone.

“Since September or October, I guess. He’s been trying to find the one who killed my mom and thought he recognized the man from my sketch. He never confirmed it with me, but when I saw Castle today, I knew it was him.”

Then I told them everything I’d heard Hubler and Castle say to each other while I’d been trapped in that binding.

“How do you think they found us? Hubler and this Castle person?” Travis held up his arm and tapped his bracelet. “We all had our bracelets on; how did they even know what we are, let alone where to find us?”

“I don’t have a bracelet anymore,” I felt I had to point out, “but I don’t need it with the taint. And I dunno, unless the Council’s traitor took the bait and came for the miracle worker.”

“Theydidtake our decoy,” Travis agreed.

“No. I don’t think that’s what this is.” Rome crossed his arms over his chest. “My gut says this is something else. From what Kerry overheard, it sounds like they were hunting nephs in general, not us specifically.”

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