In a few short days, I’d have answers.
Let’s just hope I found my courage by then.
Chapter
Eleven
Nikolai
Run-down warehouses surrounded us and the air smelled of smog and trash. We’d arrived in the lowest dregs of the city. The only people who came here were hiding secrets or avoiding the law.
We stood for a second, listening for movements. The only sounds filling the night were dogs barking in the distance and wind whistling through the trash piles that rested against the buildings.
This was exactly the kind of place a roach of a human like Eli would be.
For some reason, this case felt different. I’d taken plenty of jobs for Victor over the years, but the moment Luca gave us the list of his crimes, I knew this was different.
Or maybe my alpha was restless and desperate to save someone from the same fate as my omega.
Eight goddamn years without a trace. Even Luca had searched desperately for any trace of Aries. He might think I wasoblivious, but he kept an ongoing search for her and checked it every fucking day. I respected the hell out of him for that.
She was likely their omega, too. I believed that now.
At first, I didn’t buy into Ronan’s pack theory, but the more time I spent around them, the more I realized they were my family. Despite the fact that I tried to avoid getting close to anyone, they were a part of me now.
My blade rested in the holster along my hip. As we started to weave through the sea of warehouses, I could feel its weight with every step we took. Our movements were silent and well-practiced. Our pack-bond wasn’t official, but strong enough we could read each other without words.
Luca had flagged a tip that our target was in town. He had some kind of meeting tomorrow which likely meant that he had girls hidden away somewhere in this hellscape. An uneasy feeling settled in my gut.
Was this what she’d had to endure? Where was my omega now?
“Backup is en route, in case this takes a turn,” Ronan said under his breath, just loud enough for us to hear. “But we’re not waiting.”
He gestured for us to move forward and we fell in line. The first warehouse was empty, the ceiling peeling away and letting in the moonlight. Dust danced in the faint beams of light making it clear no one had been here tonight.
The second, third, and fourth all housed larger equipment and were clean inside, but there wasn’t space for anything more.
There were easily twenty more warehouses around us. This was going to be a long night if we didn’t pick up our pace.
“There,” Luca said, following something on his phone and pointing ahead. “We have activity.” Whatever radar app he had going finally showed a signal up ahead. This was exactly the break we needed.
“This isn’t just a little activity, it’s some kind of hub. The energy signature alone—” He trailed off.
He didn’t need to finish. It wasn’t the first time we’d found someone like Eli hiding out in a place that came out inconspicuous and hidden away. The type of place where the sounds of screams and late night visits would go unnoticed.
We moved forward like ghosts, ensuring whoever was waiting beyond those doors didn’t know we were coming.
Our steps halted as Ronan held up a hand, gesturing for us to pause. A breath later voices cut through the silence.
Ronan gestured for me to go ahead of them. I was the one who’d be able to slip in and eliminate the guards without being noticed.
I slipped forward, rounding the corner and eyeing the guard waiting there. He clearly thought nothing could happen out here. All of these bastards thought that they were untouchable. His expression was bored, full attention on his phone, chuckling at some stupid video that made more noise than I did.
My blade slid across his throat before he had a chance to react. I could have subdued him, but anyone willing to work for Elias Vance deserved to die.
I knew whatever they were guarding inside would only confirm that.
With a double tap on my comm I started to move again. There would be more guards ahead.
