Chapter 37 Found And
Federal agents found them twenty minutes later, medics immediately treating Elara's shoulder wound while Kai gave his statement about what happened inside the compound.
"Mandivus?" Elara asked the lead agent.
"In custody," he confirmed. "Along with fourteen of his men and enough evidence to put them away for decades."
"And the child actor?" Elara asked.
"Safe and returned to his parents," the agent said. "You did good work tonight."
Elara didn't feel like she'd done good work, she felt like she'd barely survived, but she nodded anyway.
They were transported to a secure facility where doctors checked them both thoroughly—Kai had three cracked ribs, a concussion, and multiple lacerations, while Elara's shoulder wound required stitches but wasn't serious.
"You're both incredibly lucky," the doctor said. "Could have been much worse."
"Where's Adrian?" was the first thing Elara asked when Maya and Liam arrived at the facility.
"Safe with a friend," Maya said. "I'll take you to him once the feds clear you to leave."
"When will that be?" Elara asked.
"Tomorrow probably," the agent supervising their debrief said. "We need full statements from both of you about Mandivus's operations and Darius Silvercrest's involvement."
"Darius," Kai said and his face darkened. "We need to move against him before he realizes what happened here."
"Already handled," the agent said. "We've had a team watching him since Liam contacted us, the moment Mandivus was arrested we moved on Silvercrest, he's currently being questioned about his financial ties to borderlands criminal operations."
"He'll deny everything," Kai said.
"He can deny all he wants," the agent said. "We have bank records showing three years of payments, we have correspondence between him and Mandivus, and we have testimony from multiple sources about his involvement."
"What about pack law?" Elara asked. "Darius is head Alpha, pack council might try to protect him."
"Pack law doesn't supersede federal law," the agent said. "If he's guilty of trafficking and conspiracy, he's going to prison regardless of his pack status."
They spent the next six hours giving detailed statements about everything—the rejection ceremony two years ago, the exile, the borderlands, Mandivus's threats, Darius's involvement, all of it recorded and documented.
By dawn Elara was exhausted and her shoulder throbbed despite painkillers.
"Get some rest," the agent said. "We'll have more questions later but you're free to see your son."
Maya drove them to a safe house an hour away where Adrian was playing with toys under the watchful eye of a federal marshal.
"Mama!" Adrian shouted when he saw Elara and launched himself at her.
Elara caught him despite the pain in her shoulder and held him tight, breathing in his little-boy smell and feeling tears stream down her face.
"I missed you so much baby," she whispered.
"I missed you too mama," Adrian said. "And dada!"
He reached for Kai who took him gently, wincing from his cracked ribs but smiling anyway.
"Hey buddy," Kai said. "Sorry I was gone."
"Did you fight the bad man?" Adrian asked.
"Something like that," Kai said.
"Did you win?" Adrian asked.
"We're here aren't we?" Kai said. "That means we won."