Bane finishes, “Or by working their way down family trees if they knew of one for sure, seeing if anyone inherited the gene.” He puts a hand on Mason’s shoulder. “Accidental changes are uncommon, but they happen when the sire loses control in the heat of the moment. You know how delicate that switch is for us between venoms, and we don’t know what that’s like for the other animals that don’t have any natural venom. He likely thought you were dead when he left, tried to run after the bond set in so he could escape responsibility.”
My stomach churns. “If they worked at the agency, it would've made it easy for them to snatch me and create new identities to stay off of the radar, especially if they killed my parents. Shifters aren’t going to look too closely at what happens with humans since you keep to yourselves so much.”
Mason looks wrecked, and Bane isn’t faring much better as he brings up, “And give them access to a hell of a contact list to sell your blood. Gods only know how many people would consider joining forces if it meant a chance at getting their hands on her.”
He looks at me, worry replacing his previous confidence. “Depending on how much your parents told them in their desperation to get you back, it might not be as simple as killing three people and moving somewhere secluded. We have no idea how many people know that you exist and are hunting for you.”
Chapter 20
Bane
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How the hell am I supposedto protect her from the entire goddamn world and still make sure that she has a life worth living?
Mason helps Risa down from the cage so that she can take a break, leaving Stryker and I sitting at our table, stewing in pensive silence. Finishing off another beer, I try to take at least a fraction of the edge off, but it’d take half the bar before I felt anything other than dread.
Protecting my family is all I’ve ever been good at. If I can’t even do that anymore, I’m useless. We’ve promised her so much, but it turns out those vows were hewn from glass, fracturing around us a little more with every new revelation thrown our way.
If we lose Risa, there won’t ever be a way to come back from the blow.
“Breathe, B,” Stryker states beside me, glaring into the crowd, eyeing everyone like they’re a potential enemy. “We’re doing a hell of a lot of assuming. Until we actually find her parents and see how deeply this runs, we’re making it harder on ourselves by imagining the worst.”
Sighing, I rub the back of my neck. “Being in the city isn’t helping. Either our guard is up and I’m jittery after relying on my senses so much, or they’re down, and I want to throw up from the onslaught. As far as I’m concerned, no matter when we leave, it isn’t soon enough.”
He snorts in agreement, lifting his beer and keeping an eye on the hallway Risa disappeared down to use the bathroom. “I’ll drink to that.”
Mason is casually leaning against the wall near the hallway, and when he suddenly straightens up, I instantly rise from my seat, trying to see what set him on alert. Stryker mirrors my move, working through the throng of bodies as we follow Mason’s line of sight, now livid.
Blake uses the crowd to his advantage, and as soon as it becomes clear that our aversion to the humans surrounding us in mass is working against us, I whip out my phone. Making sure that there’s enough in the background to identify the place, I take a few pictures to prove he broke the restraining order by being here, mentally cursing human legalities when it would be so much easier to tear his throat out and be done with this bullshit.
Though, it all circles back to wanting better for Risa than living out her life in a hidden bunker somewhere, perpetually on the run. If we kill him and can’t get out of the city and off grid quickly enough, our only option would be to kill the men arresting us, and then the hunting effort intensifies to the point even fake IDs won’t save us. I want better for her than that, so we’ll stick to playing the humans’ games.
For now.
A glance at Mason shows him talking to the bouncer, who promptly coordinates with another. Within a few minutes, Blake’s ass is getting tossed out the front door, and I record the entire thing, sending the files to Ryker and Thatcher, not giving a shit if it annoys them or not.
