Chapter 70 Ask her
"Or they kill you in their anger. As someone who has experience with cheat- ing pricks, might I suggest you not go that route? I'd hate to have to put your guts back into your stomach, and sew them up again, asshole. Once was enough for me." Xari rolled her pretty eyes and crossed her arms over her corset-covered chest.
Xari was a little badass, fae halfling, with a skill set most immortals didn't have in their arsenal of tricks. But that's not surprising since she's Xavier's daughter. He's the man that started the hunter organization, and he had over- seen her training. Xari has been hunting since puberty, and her old man trained her to kill without hesitation. I'd met her with my entrails hanging out, and she hadn't balked as she shoved them back into my stomach, sewing them up, then complained that I was whining like a bitch the entire time.
"Have you asked Braelyn how much she knows about what her father was doing?" Xavier asked with a worried expression. "I hate to say it, but I don't think you're going to be able to kill her if she is guilty, Saint." "If he won't, we will," Ezekiel stated, running his thumb over a blade as
shadows wafted around him.
"I'll be the one to kill her if it comes to that," Eryx folded his arms and glared at Ezekiel and Enzo. "Braelyn is pack, and that makes her our respon- sibility. No one else is to hurt her. If Saint says the word, I'll put her down as gently as possible. She's his mate, and no matter what has happened, he needs to know that she will be released from this life humanely for him to get out of this with his fucking soul in one piece." Eryx picked invisible lint from this sleeve before meeting my gaze. The pain in his expression was momentarily visible before he shut it down and replaced his mask of civility.
"Dinner should be fun," I ground out, exhaling, and everyone gave a soft chuckle at my expense. "Shove it, assholes. After dinner, you're with me, Eryx. We'll question Brae about what she knows regarding Harold's business. The rest of you, start looking for underground caves or storage containers. I saw shipping containers outside of the compound. Harold could have had some buried and is using them to hide his shipments. He would have had them close to the compound because he was a lazy prick who thought he couldn't be caught in the act. Not to mention, the video feeds in this shithole leave the back en- trance dark. It's that way for a reason."
"Harold didn't want anyone seeing him hauling out bodies; I take it?" Xavier frowned, peering around the room. "That's what I'm guessing, and he didn't want to be seen bringing his victims in either," I grunted, running the newest facts through my mind.
My gaze slid back to where Zayne pushed pause on an image of Jane Doe.
Her face was always facing away from the screen and covered by what looked to be a pillowcase, concealing her features.
"What if Jane Doe is a Fenrir wolf? It would explain her never being raped since the wolf god would have protected her. She'd have to be a willing partic- ipant to get past Fenrir's protection. And this." I said, pointing to the monitor, "does not appear consensual." I turned to look at Xavier, and he nodded.
"Could be, or it could just be that wasn't what he wanted from her. She's Harold's first victim, that much I know. I'm still combing through the tapes, and there are a lot of them. He enjoyed her the most. You can see it in his eyes. They don't sparkle with the same excitement when he's with the other women or children. There's a madness he unleashes on Jane Doe that is sickening." Xavier lowered his tone, his eyes locking onto the faceless body. "Harold never shows her face, and there's no sound recorded when he's with her, so we can't tell if she's begging him to stop or if she can speak at all. He's gone to great lengths to hide her identity from those paying to watch these sessions. I hate thinking that we're too fucking late to save her. I fear he tired of Jane Doe or went too far one last time."
"Wish we could resurrect Harold and kill the prick again." My attention moved back to the woman bound to the bed, with her legs and arms splayed wide apart, her face hidden behind the black cloth. My eyes slid down to her stomach, skinned down to the muscular tissue, and huge, gaping chunks of her arm and leg muscles that were missing. "I shouldn't have killed him, but I had to gain control of the pack..."
"You did what was needed," Xavier stated. "Monsters like Harold wouldn't have told you anything. They enjoy holding that power over you," Enzo said, his darkening eyes holding mine. "We know because we are like that, too. Knowledge is power, and when you hold someone's life with that power, it is addictive." "You know you're scary as fuck most days, but you're pushing that limit today." I snorted, watching the evil grin that tugged at the corners of Enzo's mouth.
"You should see us when we're really angry." Ezekiel laughed, but the look in his dark gaze was anything but friendly. "You sure we can't play with your mate a little? We can unveil her darkest fantasies and desires with merely a kiss."
"I think I can handle my mate, but if she proves to be too hard to crack, I'll consider your offer." The twin's eyes turn a wicked shade of blue before the color swallowed their eyes, and black swirls slid over their arms and hands. "Kill the demon vibes, assholes. You're making Xari uncomfortable, and she gets stabby when she's uncomfortable."
"Noted," Enzo smirked as he tilted his head, eyeing Xari with a darkened expression. "I like stabby women."
"Cool the shit," Xavier demanded, laughing Enzo and Ezekiel off. "She's not into demons or twins that share their toys. She's my fucking daughter, ass- holes. Get your minds on the fact that there are children here, starving, and tonight the temperature's dropping to forty degrees."
"We do dinner, and then you guys head out and cover the ground in a grid pattern. Just like we did on Mount Rainier last summer." I swallowed down the fact that I was about to have dinner with a jealous hellhound and my mate, and the fireworks that were bound to happen would be entertaining for everyone except me.