Page 23 of Corbin
“Great. Looking forward to getting one of you out in the field again.” Adrian headed up the steps and paused next to Jaz. He dipped his head in acknowledgement and went in.
Jaz came down the steps. “This is a big opportunity. We both see promise in you.”
Corbin stuck his thumbs in the front pockets of his jeans. “I’m hearing abutat the end of that sentence.”
“You’re right. I’m not crazy about you backing up Adrian while you’re still hiding something from us.”
His gut clenched. “What are you talking about?”
She hit him with a hard stare. “When I healed you, I sensed something foreign in your back. You never mentioned it. If it’s a tracker and you’re really done with the Romanians, it makes me wonder why you wouldn’t have me take it out.”
He could smooth this over. “You’re right, and I’ll explain it, but why did you wait until now to ask me about it?”
“We’ve been watching to see if anyone unexpected showed up.”
He considered how to play this. So far, being straight had worked best with them. “Would you have handed me over?”
She snorted at that. “You should know by now that no one touches one of ours.”
“Sorry, but I’m not used to anyone standing up for me.”
“Understood. Now tell me what’s in your body.”
He let out a breath and nodded. “I have an electronic unit inserted into my back. To be honest, I never considered that it could be a tracker because I’ve never had an opportunity to escape before this one time.” He scratched his head. “I don’t think it’s a tracker or they would have found me by now.”
She quirked an eyebrow at his explanation but couldn’t call a lie when he’d been truthful. “What is it?”
“They used electric shock treatments to train my wolf.” His chest hurt just thinking about all the painful times he and Ares had suffered. The Romanians had screwed up both of them. “They starved me from the beginning. Then, when I was begging for food for my wolf, they’d use a trigger to activate that unit in my back. It shocked the hell out of me and would stun me long enough for my wolf to break free, and they’d feed the wolf. Do that enough times, and the wolf will blast out of your body just to get fed. Then they trained him to track humans on their command.”
Her face didn’t soften, but she no longer looked as if she wouldn’t trust him to take out the garbage. “Was that all they taught your wolf?”
It was futile to dance around Jaz. He had no choice but to give her the entire truth. “For the whole time I was with them, we hunted human gangs, drug smugglers, black-market weapon dealers.”
She cocked her head. “Were they some kind of Romanian law enforcement?”
“Hell, no. The Romanian ran a black ops mafia group that took on underworld contracts no one else would touch.” He hated to admit this next part. “Once they had a way to unleash my wolf, they taught Ares that he mattered more than me. The next step was teaching him to attack a human target even if it was no threat to us. Every time he killed one, he got better food, and they treated him like a coveted weapon. I hated every minute of my time with that bunch. When my wolf was exhausted, I could take the body back.”
She didn’t say anything at first. Her face shifted with a flow of thoughts before she asked, “Can you control your wolf?”
“I will be honest. I couldn’t until we escaped. It’s not easy now, but we’ve been doing better since you and Adrian took over the pack. I’ve made it clear to my wolf that if he breaks free and attacks anyone and survives, I’ll accept death in human form. I will have to live with the memories of the humans who died when we were captured. They were all scum of the Earth, but I will not kill anyone who does not try to kill me first. If the other pack members don’t shift, I can keep my wolf inside. If one of them snaps and shifts, I might not be able to hold control.”
Sighing heavily, she said, “If it were up to me, none of you would back up Adrian, but he spoke highly of how you and your wolf rescued that young girl.”
That vote of confidence sent chills up his spine. Should he do this?
Screw it. He’d made a commitment and had to start building a new life. “I hear you. Is that all?” Please say she was done with him.
“No. One more thing.” She stepped closer and lowered her voice. “Executing the assignment is Adrian’s responsibility. Watching his back is your priority. Don’t get starry-eyed oversome pretty shifter celebrity and not pay attention. See you at dinner.”
After that warning, she disappeared into the house.
She thought he’d get starry-eyed over Eirene-The-Queen-Givenchy?
That’d be a white-out snow day in hell.
Chapter 4
Wind blew into the open face of Corbin’s helmet. Dark-tinted sunglasses protected his eyes. He normally didn’t like to wear a helmet, and South Carolina didn’t require one for riders twenty-one and older, but he welcomed this one.
