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Castor glares at me from where he’s standing. “Solves some of your problems?”
I flick my eyes to Hagen. I have no qualms about the male, but the mountain is a stranger to me.
“He’s aware that you’re the one who took Annabelle from the Athens airport. And our involvement with the New Year’s Day battle. His team figured out a lot on their own.”
“I work with the best.” Hagen lifts his chin. “Although today doesn’t feel like a win.”
“It’s not.” Castor glares at me.
“I didn’t say it was.” I glare back at him. “I don’t know why they took the females.” But then, our government is nothing but convoluted. One side not knowing what the other side is doing is not uncommon.
“And that was your people?” Hagen raises a thick eyebrow.
“Yes, or at least our military is working with some level of involvement from someone in the government.” Castor has his block out, in full view. I stop holding mine like it might be a human cell phone. “But not the security council?” Castor asks me.
I shake my head.
“And what about this makes this easier for you?” Hagen takes a bright turmeric yellow tumbler out of his desk and gulps down the contents. A pasty sludge remains in the bottom. “Protein shake,” he explains when he sees my questioning gaze.
“Our people are decisive. Some might call it impulsive. We take action and ask for forgiveness. I’m the person they call when they want action.”
“They called you in to rescue the women?” Hagen now has a full-size granola bar. It looks like a grain of rice in his hand. He eats it with one bite.
“No, the opposite.”
“And yet you’re mated to Annabelle Portsmouth, the cousin of Marlee Strickland?”
“Yes, but I had no intention of fulfilling the order. Only to find them and hide them away safely.” I pause. There’s something about Hagen that says I can trust him. “The same council that I work for has taken my sister. If I don’t return with evidence that the women are dead, they are going to let the Kraken keep her.” It’s not the best outcome for me. But I’ve talked my way out of worse.
“Kraken?”
3
CASTOR
“Kraken?” Hagen’s voice vibrates. His thick fingers fly, pounding on his keyboard.
“Yes.” I glare at Eros. I’ve told Hagen a lot, but I hadn’t gotten to the Kraken or our tumultuous relationship with them. Rage pulses through me. I’m furious with those in power for taking a mermaid. Both Dorian and Kraken. But with Eros too. “Does your pod know where you are?”
“Yes,” Eros growls. “I’ve made mistakes in the past, but I’m part of a pod now. Yes, they know.” He shakes his head. “But I also don’t have false evidence to give the security council, not when the military took them right out from under our noses. I was going to use the evidence to get my sister back. That option is gone. They’ll know the Omicron beat me to them.”
“Kraken, you say?” Hagen clears his throat. He heard Eros but wants him to say it again, I’m unsure why. “I know a guy who might be able to help.”
I know I’ve hired what my research says is one of the best security firms in the shifter world. And I should trust him, but...
A knock vibrates the door, and it opens without warning. A light-brown-haired male stands in the doorway. “Excuse me, Hagen. Damn, did you see that the power grid went out? Good thing we have our backup.”
Hagen’s hands don’t stop jabbing his keyboard. The forceful clicks echo in the bright mahogany and green cave-like room.
Hagen cracks half a smile. “Really? Who would have expected that? It’s a good thing, Pat. Hey, can you pull me the footage from our Milk Street and alley camera?” I have no doubt that Hagen had something to do with the surveillance cameras and the grid going down.
“Sure, the same warehouse we’ve been watching?”
Hagen nods at his employee. “That’s the one.”
“Already done. All the cameras right around the time of the power outage are dead. Missing?—”
“Like two minutes?” I ask.
