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“I’ll stand watch on the kid’s door,” John volunteered.
“Good.” Nick approved. “In the meantime, Micah and I will go over the list of all the shifters rescued from the facility where he and Aric were found. Hopefully we’ll get a lead.”
“Were all of those victims taken to Sanctuary?” Jax asked him.
“Initially, yes. Some have been released, and some are still being treated. We have records on all of them to keep track, even the ones who’ve left us to return to their families and such. They’ll be monitored for stability for some years to come.”
Micah frowned. “Well, apparently someone has slipped the leash, so to speak.”
“It seems so. Let’s go see if we can have any luck with that list.” Nick turned to Jesse. “Unless you need us here any longer?”
“Nope. In fact, if your whole bunch packed your bags and moved out of the state, that would suit me just fine.”
Nick smirked. “Take that up with the U.S. Government, my friend.”
“Might as well shit into the wind.”
“Nice image.”
“Truth.”
Jesus. Maybe those two were long-lost brothers and didn’t know it. Wouldn’t that be a kick in the nuts?
The group broke up, and Micah headed back to his bike without looking at the man’s torn body again. He was already craving oblivion, what with the picture of the poor bastard burned into his brain.
Straddling his Harley, he sat for a few minutes and watched as the sheriff and his deputies finished and the medical examiner arrived to remove the body. He wondered whether the ME was fully in the loop, like Jesse, or if the man found himself speculating on just what really went on in the Shoshone when the moon came out.
A few yards away, Nick answered a call on his cell. After a few seconds, he hung up and spoke briefly with the sheriff before bidding him good-bye. Then he walked over to Micah. “Want to go with me and Kalen to question the boy in the hospital?”
Not really. Who wanted to see a defenseless teenager hurt and grieving? But the commander expected his presence, and they might learn something. “Sure.”
“Good. Let’s drop off your motorcycle, and we’ll pick up Kalen. The sheriff will meet us there. When we’re done there, we’ll go back and work on that list.”
Fucking awesome. “All right.”
Micah would rather have fought hordes of goblins and Sluagh than revisit any part of his past, for any reason. But it was determined to bite him in the ass again and again, so he had no choice. In seconds he was following Nick’s SUV to the compound. The drive was short, and Kalen was waiting. Jax offered to get started on the list until Micah and Nick could return, and the commander gave the task over with relief.
Micah still hadn’t been able to have a word with Jax alone, and that ate at him.
Soon they were on their way, Nick driving and Micah riding shotgun. Kalen was sprawled in the backseat, staring out the window and tapping one booted foot to the classic rock on the radio. John, who was riding along to take up guarding the teen, leaned against the opposite door, lost in thought.
Micah turned halfway around in his seat to address Kalen. “How do you wipe someone’s mind?”
Kalen shrugged. “The best way I can explain it is, I reach in with my magic, go searching for what I need. I find the right memory and use my power to erase it just like an eraser does writing on a chalkboard. Then I insert the memory I need them to have.”
“That’s some pretty freaky shit.”
Nick snorted. “That’s not the freakiest shit he can do, by far.”
“I know, and I haven’t even seen half of it.”
Kalen just smiled and shook his head. For a half-Fae and powerful Sorcerer, Micah mused, the man was humble as hell. He could probably destroy most of the world in less than a day with the right motivation, but he didn’t let his abilities go to his head. The Sorcerer could open a serious can of whoop-ass if he needed to, and had, but only when necessary.
At the hospital, Nick parked in the visitor’s lot, and they went inside, riding the elevator to the fifth floor. The appearance of four dangerous-looking guys striding through the hallways caused no little curiosity—and some concern—and twice they were politely asked if they could be “helped” to find their destination.
Outside the teen’s room, John relieved the deputy, who appeared quite grateful to be let go. The big former agent was only slightly less impenetrable than Fort Knox, so Micah figured the kid was in good hands.
They left John to it, and quietly filed into the room. Jesse must’ve gone straight to the hospital, as he was already in the room waiting for them. On the bed was a young man who hadn’t quite grown into his long limbs. He was a good-looking kid, sable hair falling into scared, grief-stricken, red-rimmed blue eyes. All told, he was in much better shape than he should’ve been, thanks to Zan’s covert visit. The young man’s gaze lit on each of them, but he kept looking at the sheriff as if for an explanation.
