Page 57 of Sergi
“Don’t move. I’m going to ask you a question. How did you find us?”
When he didn’t respond, Devon said, “Alright. If that’s your choice, I’ll let the wolf finish you.”
“No. No.” The male gulped air. “We come to town every other day to check in with our lookout.”
“And who is that?”
When he didn’t respond, Remus placed his front paws on the male’s back.
The vampire visibly shook, and the scent of urine made Devon’s nose twitch. “It’s a guy that works at the garage. He saw your vans pulling in.”
“The owner?”
“No. One of the mechanics is a vampire.”
“So you decided to take us down?”
“We didn’t know who you were other than vampires running with filthy shifters. There’s only one response for that.” When the vampire realized what he said, the shaking increased along with a bit of whining. “It’s what we’re taught. Anyone willing to work with shifters is no better than them. You’re…” He seemed to search for the right word, then spit out, “You’re an enabler.”
Devon didn’t have a response to that. He let the silence grow until nothing could be heard but the occasional hoot, the rustling of a small creature scurrying past, and the labored breathing of the wolf. Drops of bloody drool fell on the vampire’s bare neck, and he began to struggle again.
“Please, let me go. I’ll go straight to Bucharest and fly back to the States.”
“What House are you from?”
It took a moment before he rasped out, “Larkin.”
It would’ve been too easy for it to have been Venizi. Devon stood and nodded to Remus. “I’ll meet you back at the inn.”
He turned and jogged back the way he’d come. The screaming followed him for only a minute before it stopped.
They’d found the mole. He’d let Bella take care of him and the one they’d saved once she was done with her questions.
He grinned. This had been the first time he’d hunted with Remus. Whatever tension he’d been holding in was gone. Thoseold feelings of going to battle returned, along with the scent of victory.
Chapter Twenty-One
When I arrivedat the stairs after leaving Sergi, my head was down, deep in thought. The guard waiting for me slapped his billy club against his leg but didn’t say anything, assuming I was being submissive. There might have been a slight pause that I barely registered before he turned for the stairs.
Sergi thought he could bust through the loose bolts. Either way, the guards would eventually discover the door had been left unlocked, the wooden beam lying undamaged on the floor. They might consider one of the guards had helped Sergi, but I would be their first suspect. Until then, I had to focus on my work and not give them any reason to question me.
After I was handed off to a lab assistant, I followed him to the same lab as the previous day. My gut wrenched having to witness another shifter have their humanity stripped away. Where was that other shifter now? The last S-272 and I had seen of him, they’d switched the dog collar, for lack of a better name, with a metal one. The guards had attached two long metal poles to it and had walked him out of the lab.
No one knew what to expect from this new creature—half man, half shifter.
The second I shuffled into the lab, S-272 waved me over. I’d seen him sad, stoic, angry, but never distressed. But as I grew closer, it wasn’t difficult to catch the whiff of anger boiling under the surface. I wasn’t sure if the appearance of worry was a facade to hide his rage or if it was the cause of it.
I scanned the room. No guards were present, only the eight lab staff. The lead scientist hadn’t arrived yet, and the windowed room where the director had watched yesterday’s experiment was dark.
S-272 led me to the storage room and pulled out a bucket. “They’re modifying the serum.” S-272 handed me the bottle of cleanser.
“Why? They seemed pleased with yesterday’s results.” I opened the bottle and poured a small amount into the bucket.
“They had a problem subduing him. They’re not sure what set him off. He was being kept in one of the security cells on this floor and appeared calm. Sometime later, when a guard slid a tray of food in, the shifter grabbed the man’s arm and tried to pull him through the slit.”
“Oh my god.” The opening in the door was only tall and wide enough to slip a food tray in. I had a bad feeling where this was going, but I asked anyway. “What happened?”
“The shifter ripped the guard’s arm off. Even with all the screaming and the cameras, the guard bled out before help arrived.”
