Chapter 64 He is lying
stood in the hallway, outside one of the many medical wards that held families uniting with their loved ones. Eryx stood across from me, speaking with a medic that had spent countless hours in the last two weeks tending to the chil- dren we'd found on the mountain. I'd spent a week here when we'd caught a lead on another smuggling ring and handled it before preparing to head back up the mountain. I'd needed the time away from Braelyn to let the anger I'd felt dissipate. I knew what everyone wanted and what was required. Putting Brae down, though, the idea left me cold and dead inside.
She'd known about the killing fields, which meant she'd fucking known it was filled with boxes of victims. Fucking children that were helplessly awaiting torture. It would be endless with their immortality kicking in; even as young as they were, they'd heal if their tormentors didn't take shit too far.
It had knocked me back, knowing she'd been aware of the children buried inside the containers. Seventy-nine children and thirty-one women were recovered, ranging in age from six to thirty-one. That didn't include the ones I'd left her with, unwilling to identify the bodies of the deceased until I could stomach pulling out their remains.
Pulling my phone out, I dialed Lucas to check and make sure Brae wasn't trying to escape again since he'd said she had caused hell by doing so earlier. He'd ensured me he had handled her rebellion easily and that she'd stopped fighting him with no harm to her person.
"Hey, what's up?" Lucas asked, answering the call on the second ring.
"How's Chaos?" I enquired, dancing around what I really wanted to know. "He's good. He is out with the men, tracking deer as you instructed. He stopped asking where Braelyn was and if he could see her a few days ago. You were right, keeping him busy is helping to keep his mind off of her."
"Good, that's good. Has Braelyn asked to leave the room again?" I watched as Eryx turned, staring me down.
"Nah, we stopped that by threatening to put her back into that storage con- tainer," Lucas laughed, but there was something in his tone that made me pause. "All is good here."
"That's good. I'll be home in the next couple of days or so. Did the pack get enough meat stored away?" I nodded to Eryx, who walked closer, listening to Lucas speak. He swiftly explained total deer caught, salted, and stored before asking about Carleigh, who had shown up here trying to get me back into her bed, to no avail. "She's around here. Has Brae eaten?"
"Yeah, sure. I fed her," Lucas murmured, causing Eryx's eyes to narrow on the phone I held against my ear. "She's been a good prisoner. No problems from her this week."
Eryx frowned, nodding that Lucas spoke the truth. Eryx could read people's tones, minus Brae's, which we'd learned early on as children. She was harder to read, which we chalked up to her lineage, and being the daughter of Brenna Fenrir Haralson. Brae's emotions were the same, meaning she could easily shut everything off.
"How much has she eaten? I don't imagine it's much after being locked in- side that car for a full twenty-four hours."
"She was picky at first, but she started eating well enough. You know how women are," he droned on. "Besides, it's not like it matters if she eats, she's a dead-wolf-walking, right, man?"
Eryx shook his head, glaring as I promised to return home shortly to help finalize the winter preparations. Ending the call, I slipped the phone into my pocket, staring at him.
"He's lying about something. His voice didn't hesitate on Braelyn being a dead wolf, though. Something isn't right, Saint." "Let's go," I growled, heading toward Xavier, who leaned his head against the glass window of the room full of unclaimed children yet to be identified.
"We're heading up to the mountain. Lucas is lying about Braelyn, and I need to know why he's lying."
"We'll head back with you. I need to review some of the footage of Jane Doe. Dyson said he found some new videos, some with voices. It might help me figure something out. I need to put her to rest, one way or another. She's out there waiting to be found, or they killed her because her uses ran dry."
"Grab Xari, and we'll head back up. It's an hour-long flight, and we're wasting daylight already. I need to be certain the pack has enough men out hunting before the snow gets too deep," I admitted, scratching my neck as the others gathered around.
"Problem?" Ezekiel and Enzo asked together, which creeped me the fuck out with their twin shit.
"I don't know yet. Something is off, and I've been gone too fucking long. I didn't plan on breaking up another ring while we were away. The asshole I left in charge of Braelyn seems off, and I think he might have helped her escape before the snow hits. He was her friend."
I watched as Carleigh approached. Her eyes were sharply focused on me while I studied the way her hips swayed. She smiled brightly, pushing her hands into her back pockets. "Problem?" she asked, and Eryx started to answer, but I slapped him on the shoulder.
"Nah, we're just going to go chase down a lead. You able to stick around and watch the kids?" I asked, dragging my gaze down her body with a heated look that made her smile turn seductive.
"Sure, but you owe me big time for doing it. You can buy me dinner and a drink when you get back," she announced.
"Sure thing, Car," I murmured, noting the others were watching me with hawk-like gazes. "The rest of you assholes get to the helipad. We don't want to miss this one or mess it up," I announced as Carleigh stared me down.
"Something wrong, Saint?" she asked, her instincts on point. They should fucking be; I'd trained her myself. She stepped back, the smell of fear filling the space around her.
"Grab her," I demanded as Phenrys and Bowen clutched her arms. "Put her in the bird and don't let her out of your fucking sight. I don't know what the fuck you did, hellhound, but it better not be what I think it is."
She smirked, her eyes dancing with laughter as she held my stare. A sick feeling entered my stomach as I turned, heading toward the helipad and the sound of the blades starting up. My mind whirled with what could have hap- pened. Lucas had been a hard sell in turning against Braelyn, but he'd taken it deeper. He'd made it personal, which almost seemed too fucking easy.