Page 71 of Blade's Battle
For as much as being near Hayden made Anna nervous, she felt sorry for him. The mere mention of Drake placed Hayden on edge, more than having Blade sitting there, struggling to control his wolf.
“What does Drake want from you?” Damien asked.
Anna tore her thoughts from Hayden and Blade. “I used to think he wanted insight into the WSSO. He asked me questions about them over and over that first week or two. Questions about security and protocols and insight into the higher levels of their organization. Yet I also had the impression he believed me when I explained how they had stolen my research, and I didn’t work for them. It felt like all the questions Drake asked were just an excuse.”
“For what?” Damien asked.
Blade held her tight to his side. It gave her the strength she needed to continue.
“I don’t know. Drake often came to see me, without any questions. He’d withhold water for days until I begged him. When he gave it to me, he expected me to thank him. I forgot one time. He beat me until I learned my lesson.”
Anna did her best to block out the hiss she heard. She didn’t want to see the expression on the faces of the shifters around her. Instead, she looked at Blade, whose warm eyes told her she didn’t have to continue if she didn’t want. Except this was information Damien needed.
“When I finally thanked him, he rewarded me with food. I felt like I was a damn dog being conditioned.”
Blade growled beside her. “Maybe you should go rest while I fill them in,” Anna suggested.
“Not leaving you,” he said, without further explanation. His face had hardened, and she suspected something was bothering him beyond her words, something more than his having lost control to his wolf yesterday.
“You said Drake believed you,” Hayden said, tearing her attention from Blade. “Drake doesn’t take many people at their word. Why you?”
Hayden’s dark eyes were boring through her, a quality he shared with his brother. When Anna averted her eyes, Blade whispered in her ear, “You can trust Hayden. He’s a voyeuristic dick, but he’s one of us.”
That made her relax. Trusting Blade was easy. She lifted her eyes to meet Hayden’s. Hayden averted his eyes. He had heard them, or he sensed she saw Drake in him. She was making a mess of this.
Before the situation could grow more awkward, she continued. “Drake ordered me to explain my research to Ramirez, so I did, sort of. Ramirez was soaking up what I was saying, like a thirsty sponge. It creeped me out.”
“You mean Ramirez creeped you out,” Tess added as she shivered, no doubt from her own encounters with the shifter.
“That too, but more the way he hung on my every word. That’s when I decided to give him the overview, nothing too detailed. I threw in a few pieces of misinformation as well, to test his knowledge. He didn’t catch them. I didn’t trust him. Still don’t.”
“If my brother believed you, and it sounds like he did, then I doubt he wants to kill you. You’re valuable to him for some reason. That’s why I doubt it was Drake who trashed your house. That message isn’t Drake’s style.”
“What message?” Blade asked.
“Whoever trashed her place spray-painted ‘DIE’ on her walls,” Callen said.
Blade started to rise until she caught both of his hands. “Please, Blade.” She tugged his hands until he sat back down.
“If not Drake, then who?” Callen asked.
“The WSSO,” Blade said before she could answer. “They tried to kill her on the way to Liam’s, too.”
“Boy, you really go all out when you make enemies,” Frank said.
“Leave her alone,” Tess scolded.
“I was just saying—”
“Enough,” Damien said. “Why does the WSSO want you dead?”
Anna shrugged. This was not the type of questions she had expected. The ones about Drake, sure, but not the WSSO. “I haven’t been the most cooperative with them.”
“She’s refused to work with them, then they stole her research and created the virus,” Blade added. “They probably want to silence her, so the U.S. government doesn’t get involved.”
“No worries there. Our so-called government doesn’t care what happens to shifters,” Frank scoffed.
“They care enough that they funded my research.”
