Chapter 5

Every time she glanced in his direction, he was staring at her. It wasn’t odd for people to gawk at her. It had been happening her entire life. She’d gotten used to it, but still hated it. This time she wasn’t just annoyed, she was keenly aware of it and it was really starting to bother her. Setting aside his gun, which she noted was well-maintained, she picked up his wallet. His driver’s license looked legit, just like her own ID. She studied the picture, his was good. No one’s ID photos were ever good, but his was. She resented him for that. Her own looked like she’d just taken a punch to the gut when the flash blinded her. His last name surprised her. She’d expected it to be Tomas. Points to him for not using that name. She read the address and sneered at the card in her hand, “suite,” she looked over at him, “you live in some posh suite?” She scoffed.

He sat there for a moment, just looking at her. “It’s decent. Warm in the winter, cool in the summer.”

“I bet.” She dropped the card into the box and pulled out another one.

“Does it say that the posh suite is guarded? That I am locked in it unless I’m required by my brother?”

It wasn’t hard to detect the disdain in his voice at the mention of his half-sibling. “A real victim of circumstance, huh?”

He set the cup on the floor and stood up slowly. “I’m not a victim. The real victims are the ones that are taken.” His tone was soft, with no sign of emotion.

Normally she was good at picking up on others tells that they were hiding when their expressions were voided. He had none that she could see. “We’ll get them all.” She was done talking—or thought she was, but her mouth had other plans. “We’re onto your rat.” She wanted him to know that it was going to be over soon. Once all those innocents were brought home, those responsible would pay for all they’d done.

“My rat?”

“The spy that was leaking information to your brother.” Why was she even talking to him?

He stood there for the longest time and then blinked twice. “You found one rat?”

“Yeah.” Still, her mouth was blabbing.

“My father had more than one in place on the inside.” He chortled ridiculously. “Seeing as I don’t plan on ever being there again,” he motioned around him like she hadn’t noticed he was in a cage, “I can also tell you that some of those victims you rescued are plants as well and will find a way to get information back to my br—Aiden.”

Blaise sat there staring back at him for a very long silent moment. Why was he telling her this? They could have wanted him to be taken to feed them false information. She frowned. Knowing he’d be a sacrifice in the end and wouldn’t be returning. “Do you know the names that go with your theory?”

He moved over to the cage and grabbed the wire and looked out between it at her. “No, I don’t have names.” He clenched his jaw for a second. “I know faces. I’ve been present for meetings and thought to be out of hearing distance while they spoke.”

She got up and went around the table and perched on it. “We’d know if we’d pulled out one-forms.” She’d seen those they’d gotten out. None had been in a good state.

He gave her an amused look. “I didn’t say they were human, or just human.”

“A shifter? You’re saying a shifter is working with Tomas without him holding a family member hostage or something?” Some of those abused men were working for the man that had abused them? Why?

“Some taken young enough are raised differently than the others. If they don’t know of clans and your world, and believe what they’re told, why wouldn’t they work with him? We’re all told stories of how feral and uncivilized the clans are.”

She studied him for a moment. He held her look without faltering. It was insane, but also made perfect sense. She needed to let Kenzo know. They could be housing spies along with the captives. “Why are you telling me this?” There had to be a catch. She trusted no one, not completely.

He smirked. “I’m never going back. I may live in a cage for what’s left of my life, but it’s still better than my life up until now.”

“Your life’s been hard? Have you seen those we’re fighting to get back? Their lives are hard.” She could only think of Emersyn as the words came out. What she’d survived made her the strongest person she’d ever known.

“You think I agree with it? What they’re going through? I could do nothing about it any more than I can the weather.” His tone was deeper, but his expression was still blank.

“I’m not saying you did it—but you were there. It’s your family.”

“Aiden is not my family. Having the same father does not make us family, but hey, I’m not complaining. I’m the best of both worlds. Right?”

His words said he was pleased to be, but the expression on his face said otherwise. What was it like to be half one thing, but not fully? She glanced at her darker hand, she was half and half. At least she could shift, that was a blessing—of sorts. If she hadn’t been able to, her life would have been something altogether different.

“Ballard? Is that your mother’s name?”

A cold look replaced the indifference on his face. “That’s my assumption.” He sneered, “dear old dad certainly didn’t want me to use his.”

She nodded slowly, “your mother, what clan was she from?” She tried not to think of how this man in front of her had come to be. If her mouth kept asking things like that it was going to be hard to do. She wasn’t a dreamer, but maybe there was a chance it was with consent.

“I have no idea. I never knew her.” His expression blanked again.

Had he been ripped from her arms at birth? Or maybe she didn’t make it after the birth. This was a dead-end conversation. Regardless of what he said, she knew she was going to be pissed off. Should she voice how sorry she was he hadn’t known his mother? She didn’t think she could go there. She couldn’t develop a soft spot for this man. “So, your father raised you?”

“If that’s what you want to call it. It was more of an education than nurturing relationship.”

“It’s still better than those we’ve rescued from those houses.”

His expression darkened. “You seem to think I had a choice—I didn’t. Okay, I did. Either do as instructed or live in a cage with a collar around my neck.” He started pacing in the small area. “Do your people think I wanted to be an errand boy? Answer my father and brother’s beck and call?”

She didn’t need him agitated, then she would be, which could lead to bad places. “Can you shift any part of you?”

“No. I’ve never tried either. I wouldn’t try. I didn’t want to be their show and tell as well.”

“You don’t know what clan your mother was?”

“No. I don’t know anything about her. I could be wildebeest for all I know.” He looked at her again, “Is there such a clan?”

“Not that I know of.” She fought the grin, so he wouldn’t see that picturing him as a wildebeest amused her.

“Look, even if I wanted to, I can’t or couldn’t.” He pointed to the table. “I’ve been taking those since I was twelve so I wouldn’t.”

She picked up the bottle of pills. “These stop you from shifting?”

He nodded, glanced at his hands, and jammed them into the pockets of his creased pants.

She examined the bottle closely, then opened it and inhaled. The pills were tinged with a chemical smell. “Do you know what they are?”

“Oh sure,” he scoffed, “I analyzed them in my lab the first chance I had.” He gave her a hard look. “I have no idea what they are.” He was back at the wire looking at her through it, holding her gaze. “Look when I was sent alone, which has never happened before—to pick up the Alpha female, I was supposed to kill Darrel.” He shrugged, “which I had no problem doing, he deserved it. He was a lowlife that made a living abducting people.” He huffed out a breath. “They already knew that your people found the campsite where she had been held.” He paused and took a deep breath and then exhaled slowly. “I was going to kill him and free the woman and then use the money to disappear.” He snarled and tapped the back of his neck. “I had no idea I had a tracker in me.” Pushing away from the cage, he went over to the window. “I wouldn’t have made it very far.”

Blaise looked at his back and then down at the bottle she still held. She needed to tell someone about this. She needed to tell everyone. Everything he’d said was game-changing and pissed her off at the same time. She looked at him, and then around the room. The bathroom was a dead zone, she wasn’t going outside to make a call. Turning, she glanced at the door Graham had pointed to. “I have to check in with my boss, don’t do anything stupid while I do.”

Griffin snorted and motioned to the window. He didn’t turn to look at her, “where am I going to go? If I didn’t freeze to death, somewhere out there is a bullet waiting for me.”

Blaise looked out the window. He was right. They would come for him and wouldn’t stop until his life was forcibly expired. If there were all these spies he was talking about, they probably already knew where he was, and the storm had gotten in their way.

She went over and opened the door and then stopped and looked around. Maps covered one entire wall. There was a lot of equipment in the room, but other than a computer, none of it was plugged in. She didn’t know what half of it was for, but Raymond must have set it up in the cage before they brought the half-brother here. She shrugged, Raymond Hardy was at the top of all the Alliance teams, so it made sense that he’d be well-equipped.

Pulling out her phone, she turned and leaned back against the table. Glancing up, she paused and then smirked; if she wasn’t mistaken, there was a cattle prod hanging on the wall. She couldn’t even imagine what he’d need that for but was sure there were some stories to go with it. Opening up her contacts, she hit dial beside Kenzo and put the phone to her ear.

“Blaise?”

“Boss. I have things to share.”

“Oh? How important? And tell me you didn’t beat it out of him.”

She smirked. “I didn’t touch him. He’s pissed off and that makes him chatty.”

“Interesting. Hold on, I’m going to get Illias to add Devin to this call.”

She heard a few clicks on the line and wondered how Illias could add someone to her call. Then again, she knew nothing about technology. To her, it either worked or was a piece of shit situation.”

“Devin, Blaise has been talking to our special guest.”

“Is he still breathing?”

Kenzo chuckled. “She hasn’t touched him.”

“Just thought I’d check. Some of your team are a bit rough.”

Kenzo laughed at that. “We do our job in whichever manner is the most efficient.

Blaise smirked. She’d never heard her team leader put things so politely before.

“Okay, Blaise, what have you got for us?”

She wasn’t sure where to start but didn’t want to keep the prince waiting too long. Which part was the most important? She looked at the bottle but decided the spies merited first mention. “Some of those we’ve retrieved are working for Tomas. From what he said, I’m going to say any that were born after their mother was taken or they were taken very young.”

“Wait, you mean some of those that wore collars that we’re freeing?” Prince Devin didn’t sound so calm now.

“Yeah.” She scowled at the floor, “I’d start with the ones that were the youngest, like how old they were when they were taken, ones that wouldn’t know much about clan life and reference it with their state of health when we got to them.”

“Overall health, the condition of their necks from the collar,” Kenzo added.

“Yeah, I got it.” Devin’s tone was low and lethal.

“And,” she blew out a breath, “he says his father had many placed on the inside of the Alliance.”

“His father? So they’ve been working for the Alliance this long?”

“Does he have names?” Kenzo interrupted the prince.

“No, but he says he knows faces.” She frowned. “He was supposed to kill that one that organized Amari’s abduction.” She looked at the door, wondering what he was doing out there. “He says he was planning to free her and then take off with the money.”

There was a long pause.

“He didn’t know about the tracker.” It wasn’t a question. The prince was a smart man.

“His apartment or whatever was a fancy prison for him, he says he was locked in and guarded when he wasn’t needed.”

“I can get someone to check that out. Clarify it.” Devin sounded a little calmer now.

“Does the Alliance know about the drug they use to prevent shifting?” She looked at the bottle of pills again.

“We knew there was an injection used on the women.”

She shook the bottle. “He’s been taking these pills since he was twelve.”

“He can shift?” Kenzo sounded surprised.

“He doesn’t know. He’s never tried or,” she rolled the bottle in her hand, “he’s never had the chance to try.”

“What clan was his mother?”

“Unknown.” She didn’t want to think about his mother again or how she did or didn’t get pregnant. “It’s her last name that he uses.”

“Illias, search Ballard in the clan directories.”

“On it.”

“Has he had any of the pills since we got him?”

Blaise shrugged, “I don’t think so.”

“Does he want them?” Kenzo asked.

“I can find out.” She remembered what she’d gone through when she didn’t know if she would shift of not. It was awful and she didn’t wish that anguish on anyone. As far as she knew only clan that could fully shift were on all the Alliance teams. For good reasons, she imagined, acceptance of those they were policing was the only thing she could think of right now.

“We need those pills to figure out what they are, but do we want to chance his shifting if we don’t know what he is?”

“Blaise can handle it.” Kenzo sounded confident.

It pleased her that her team leader believed in her.

“I am so glad someone entered all this into the system. I can’t imagine going old school and having to flip through actual paper records.” Illias laughed. “There are two Ballard families listed. One has never had a family member taken or disappeared. The other had a young girl vanish,” Illias breathed into the phone, “about forty years ago.”

“That fits,” Devin said quietly, “given that if the age on his ID is accurate. The girl would have been an adult when—” He stopped for a second. “What clan was she from?”

“Kermode bear, or sprit bear is the preferred name, sir.”

Blaise blinked, she’d never heard of that shifter clan before. The wild animal, yes, but a clan of them, no.

“Are there any of that clan left?”

“Uh,” Illias made a ticking sound, “yes. On an island out West sir. Twenty members. Communication is sparse, but their last check-in was four months ago.”

“Are there any Ballard’s left?” Blaise wasn’t usually one to care about things like that, but the man that had never known his mother might have family out there. If you didn’t count Aiden Tomas, she was starting to believe Griffin didn’t count him.

“There’s two in the clan, uh, an uncle and aunt possibly. I’d have to do a deep dive to see how they’re connected exactly.”

“Do that and let us know,” Devin ordered.

“Are you thinking we can dangle information in front of him and get more out of him?” Kenzo spoke quietly.

“I don’t know yet. I just want all the facts.” The prince replied.

Blaise frowned. “I don’t think he’ll have a problem sharing.” She had no evidence to prove it, she was just going on a hunch.

“How did he tell you all of this, Blaise?”

She straightened, the prince might not be in front of her, but he was still a top-rank member of the Alliance. “He was agitated,” she shrugged, “pissed off.”

“That’s good.” Kenzo injected, “I’d call bullshit if he were calmly spilling his guts.”

“I don’t,” she bit her lip for a second, trying to decide if she should continue, “I don’t think his life has been much better than those we’ve been pulling out, sir. He was treated like a pet by his father,” she sneered just thinking about Alberto Tomas.

“That wouldn’t surprise me.” There was a short pause. “Keep track of anything he shares. Leave it up to him if he wants those pills—but we need some to analyze. We’re hoping the surgeon can get there in the next few days to take the tracker out, and then Nate has said he may be able to trace where it’s being monitored.”

“Oh, a challenge.” Illias was amused.

“Okay.” She thought of what he’d said—“Sir, boss, he said they already knew about the campsite being found when Amai was taken and that there would be a bullet waiting for him as soon as the weather—”

“Shit. They knew Tripp found the campsite? How?” Now Kenzo sounded annoyed.

“We need to purge the Alliance of all these spies,” Devin growled.

“I’m going to see if Uri can get one of his to keep an eye on your location, Blaise. I’ll tell them to stay out of sight, but you’ll have some kind of backup if you need it.”

Blaise exhaled. “Okay, boss. I can keep him alive, but that tracker complicates shit if they move in on our location.”

“Only five people know your exact location, so unless they did manage to get a direction when he was being transported, you should be good.”

That made her feel a slight bit better, but she also knew the extremes the Tomas family would go to.

“Can we leave you in charge of him until everything is sorted out and the medical team can get there? Are you okay with that?”

“I’m all aces, sir. Good to go.”

“Great. I need to go fill in my father and then I’ll be in touch.”

Blaise nodded. “Sounds good, sir.”

“Good work, Blaise.” Kenzo added and then the line went quiet.