Chapter 744 Chapter 744
Bear came into the room before the porter closed the door. He turned and locked it and then looked at them. “Did you call Illias?”
Zain pulled out the phone. “I was just going to.” His heart was still racing from the drive to the hotel.
“Good. The airport was too busy, so it was a smart choice to wait.” Bear nodded.
Oaklyn came out of the bathroom smiling. “That’s quite the setup in there.” She laughed. “Bigger than my place.”
Zain had to wonder where she lived that the bathroom in a hotel room was bigger. “I’m going to call Illias.” His chest felt tight, and he knew in his gut that whatever the reason he was to call, Zain wasn’t going to like it.
Oaklyn nodded and came over and stood beside him. “Let’s hope for some good news.”
“Like Aiden Tomas died painfully last night in a car crash,” Bear said quietly.
Oaklyn looked at him for a moment. “You’re not from a bear clan, are you? Your scent is not anything I know, and I know bears.”
He grinned. “Lion.”
Zain watched the shocked look on her face. It was a normal reaction when people met Bear.
“So, is Bear your nickname?”
Bear shook his head.
“Well, bless your folks for being original and having an odd sense of humor.” She smiled at him, and Zain had to wonder if the words she spoke were sincere or if she really meant something else. “Okay, make the call. I want to go check out this place and see how the other half lives.”
Zain brought up the number, hit send, and then put it on speaker. He set it on the table and stared at it while it rang. He crossed his arms over his chest because they were vibrating.
“All good on the flight?” Is how Illias answered the phone.
“No issues,” Bear answered.
“Good. Hold on. I’ll go grab Devin.”
Bear glanced at him; the apprehension was clear in his eyes. He was worried too.
It felt like an eternity before Illias came back on the call.
“Okay, Devin’s here.”
“Guys, there’s been something unexpected discovered. Brock is in with the company that works out of the main floor of the building and will be helping at the party.”
“Everything is okay with him?” Oaklyn sat in the chair and leaned closer to the phone.
“Yes. He’s in. Apparently, he’s using a ‘cologne pin’ so no one can smell that he’s a shifter.”
“A cologne pin?” Zain had heard of all the cheats the Alliance used and had never heard of that.
“Yes. I have no idea, so don’t look to me for details. It’s something he and Marilyn came up with.”
All three of them exchanged looks. If Marilyn was involved, it was just easier not to ask.
“Okay.” Bear nodded.
“There are three shifters working for the company as well.”
To Zain, it felt like time stopped. “Working for Aiden or the company?”
“Unknown.”
“What kind of shifter are we talking about here?” Oaklyn’s forehead was creased.
“Brock isn’t sure. He can scent a shifter but hasn’t been around many other than his clan, so he can’t differentiate.”
Bear blew out a breath. Zain was holding his. They were supposed to work with Brock to pull this off and if there was a possibility of other shifters working for Tomas involved, they were going to be burned before they got started.
“We’re sending Eaton from Special Ops to lend a hand. She won’t be there for a day or so though, we don’t want to chance putting more on any flights so soon after Brock and then you three.”
Bear glanced at Zain, his head tilted, asking if he knew Eaton. Zain shrugged. He knew her to see her, but that was all.
“Gideon is nearby already, but if possible, we want him to stay out of sight. Dobry and Demir from Taggart’s team are still watching the building, but one of them could be called upon if needed.”
“Okay.” Zain blew out a silent breath. “What do you need us to do?”
“We need you to follow and isolate the three unknowns so we can get them out of there.”
“And if they’re working for Mister Tomas?” Oaklyn looked at the phone.
“We’ll decide when we know. If they’re innocents that have no idea who they’re working for, then we need to get them out of the way before anything happens to them.”
Zain agreed with that part. Enough had been hurt because of that man. “Okay. We’re going to need a car.”
“We’re working on two. One for Bear to drive you around in and another that won’t draw attention. That and some gear. You’re still going to have to play at being socialites when you’re not following those shifters.”
Oaklyn glanced at Zain. Her expression was very controlled, so he couldn’t be certain what she was feeling about all of this.
“We’ll need to be in contact with Brock outside of the way we already arranged to speak to him.” Bear nodded his head slowly, a look of focus on his face.
Zain hoped her was thinking ideas through, because he was drawing complete blanks.
“Already done,” Illias said in the background. “Only use the three phones that were in the case. The earbuds will link to them automatically. Brock has the same setup. I just need to patch his phone into your party setup so he could shoot you a text and you would be able to hit the button to connect to the earpiece.”
Zain gave the phone a surprised look. “Learned a few new things.” He hadn’t meant to say it out loud.
“Don’t you know it,” Illias sounded proud.