Control

by Crissy Smith

  Once they stood back in front of Alex’s cage and she punched in the same code, Alex’s door opened. She glanced down the cages to where the Walker was still trying to pry the bars of one open.

  “Five, one, one, three,” she called to him. “That’s the code.”

  “Okay,” he yelled back. “I’ll get them all open and we’ll start taking them out.”

  “Thanks.” She turned her attention back to Alex. She sat Max down on Alex’s right side before moving to the left.

  She checked his pulse, thankful Walkers actually had one. He was still alive, so that was good, but he’d been beaten savagely. There was blood all over his mouth and she pried his lips apart.

  “They yanked his fangs.”

  She peered up at Damon.

  “From what Jackson told me it was one of their favorite tricks. To yank out the Walkers’ fangs,” Damon told her.

  Dakota knew that from Kieran, but she’d never really understood what had happened. There were giant holes in his gums. If this had happened to Kieran over and over…she couldn’t imagine the pain.

  He’d even told her the doctor had laughed and laughed as he’d done it. Shit, she should have let Kieran kill the fucking guy. Then no one would ever feel the agony these people had.

  “Alpha?”

  Max’s voice drew her thoughts back to the present.

  “It’s okay.” Damon dropped down beside his pack member. “I got you now.” He gathered the younger wolf into his arms as Max began to sob. “You’re safe.”

  “They told me you wouldn’t come,” Max said. “That you didn’t care about us, me, any of us. That you were going to let me die here.”

  “Never.” Damon rocked his wolf. “I would never leave you to suffer.”

  The heartwarming moment brought tears to Dakota’s eyes. The tough Alpha comforting a member of his pack. Wasn’t that what they were all looking for? Someone to care for them. Someone to care what would happen to him.

  For so long she’d given everything to the Organization, but then she’d found Kieran. Now she had other priorities. Ones that put everything she believed in at risk. Instead of wanting to take the doctor and Bradley into custody, she wished she could just end them.

  Alex groaned and Dakota leaned over him.

  “Can you hear me, Alex?” Dakota said gently. “It’s Dakota, we found you.”

  “Jackson?”

  “He’s here.”

  “They want him and Kieran again,” Alex whispered.

  “I know. Can you open your eyes?”

  Alex blinked his eyes and when he did open them, they were glowing. “It hurts.”

  “Let’s get you out of here,” Dakota said.

  “Can you take Max?” Damon said. “I’ll carry him.”

  The Alpha was stronger than her. Damon stood with Max and she maneuvered herself to brace him. Damon bent and lifted Alex.

  “Jackson,” Alex muttered. “Where is Jackson?”

  “We’ll find him for you. He went down one of the other tunnels,” Dakota said.

  “Bradley,” Alex managed before going into a coughing fit. “Bradley wants them.”

  She didn’t know why he kept repeating himself, but she needed to get him out and see what she could do about getting him blood. That would be the quickest way to get him feeling better and hopefully making better sense.

  “Lead the way,” Damon told her.

  Dakota helped steady Max and they stumbled out of the cell. They shuffled down the lines of cages with Damon carrying Alex, and Alex mumbling about Jackson, Kieran and Bradley the entire time.

  The Walker was opening cells, telling the scared shifters someone would be right there to help them out. It didn’t look like he was getting much of a response from any of the injured shifters.

  As they reached the one cage she and Damon had gotten open, she was surprised to see the cougar gone.

  “Hey!” she called to the Walker. “Did someone help the girl out of here?”

  “Not yet,” he answered. “Backup is on the way. No one’s left yet.”

  “What is it?” Damon asked behind her.

  “The female cougar,” Dakota said. “She’s gone.”

  “Maybe she got out on her own?”

  “She was so scared. She didn’t believe she was being rescued.”

  “With the opening, maybe she realized she was actually free.”

  Dakota shook her head. She’d find the young cougar and put her mind at ease once they got Max and Alex out.

  “Where’s Jackson?” Alex asked.

  That was another good question. Where were Kieran and Jackson?

  Dakota started to respond when two men stepped in front of her. Shifters, and since they were dressed and carrying weapons, she could not mistake them for victims. She glanced over her shoulder at Damon.

  “You really don’t want to get in our way,” Damon told the guards.

  Max stiffened. Dakota was getting a really bad feeling about these two.

  “You think we’re just going to let you walk out of here with them?” the biggest one asked. He was a grizzly shifter and Dakota hoped she didn’t have to fight him. The cheetah shifter next to him wouldn’t be a problem.

  “Yes, we do.”

  Before either man could turn around or look at the Walker that had come up behind them, he’d knocked them all out.

  “Fuckers,” Max hissed. “They loved to torture us.”

  She might have moved a little slower than normal so Max could kick both downed shifters in the face, but Damon didn’t comment and it appeared Alex had passed out again.

  “I’ve been wanting to do that for a while,” Max told her.

  They stepped out of the hellhole and saw another bear shifter standing there. He was dressed like the other guards, but he was so young. He was staring at the big grizzly shifter on the ground.

  The Walker crept up to the kid, who looked terrified. Dakota remembered when Kieran and Remy had been attacked at the tunnels. Kieran had told her about the young bear shifter and how he hadn’t seemed like he’d wanted to be involved. If this was the same kid, she could easily see Kieran had been right.

  “Wait! Stop!” The kid held his hands up before the Walker even reached him. “I didn’t want to do any of it.”

  The Walker gripped the kid by the shoulder. “You related to him?”

  “Yes,” the young shifter replied quietly. “He’s my older brother.”

  “Is that where you got all these?” The Walker turned the kid’s face and Dakota saw huge dark bruises.

  He nodded. “I didn’t want to do it,” the kid repeated.

  “Okay, why don’t you show me where the surveillance room is?” the Walker said.

  “It’s this way.”

  Over the young shifter’s head, the Walker nodded at Dakota. She really need to pay better attention to Jackson’s men. For the life of her, she couldn’t think of the guy’s name. She smiled, showing she appreciated the gentle hand with the kid. A lot of people had been hurt during this operation and it seemed not everyone was involved because they wanted to be.

  She’d have to check on the kid once they returned to the office. If there was a story with his family, Dakota would find it out. She might have Dean dig a little for her.

  * * * *

  Kieran glanced over at Jackson, who nodded back at him. They’d found the offices and tracked Bradley’s scent to the last one. The floor was littered with half a dozen guards, but Kieran was pretty sure they weren’t dead. Well, almost sure, anyway.

  He could hear movement behind the closed door. Kieran knocked three times.

  “Give me a minute!” Bradley yelled. “I’m almost ready.”

  It was obvious Bradley didn’t know who was at his door. He probably thought it was the guards waiting to get him out of there. With the lack of communication and no alarm sounding, Kieran was a little embarrassed it had taken them this long to capture Bradley. Jeez, the place should be full of guards and have
a better security system. It didn’t even seem to matter whether or not the security cameras were taken care of. Although he was going to make sure the equipment and tapes got sent to him at the office. He wanted to know everyone who’d been involved.

  “He doesn’t leave this cave,” Jackson told him. “It’s the perfect place for his dead body.”

  Kieran nodded then backed up. He ran at the door and raised his foot, kicking the metal barrier off the hinges and making it fly into the room. Jackson moved fast and by the time Kieran was in the room, Jackson had Bradley pinned up against the wall.

  “Hello, Bradley,” Jackson said, laughing. “Not expecting us?”

  Bradley appeared so surprised he wasn’t even fighting back. He had blood running down his temple and Kieran licked his lips. He wouldn’t mind tasting the eagle shifter’s blood. “I want to bite him.”

  “Go ahead,” Jackson said. “He’s not going anywhere.”

  Kieran stepped forward but Bradley turned his head and smiled at him. “Yes, Kieran, go ahead and take a bite.”

  That made him stop. Why wasn’t the doctor or Bradley afraid of him? It didn’t make sense. Unless they’d done something to him he couldn’t remember? Again, he had more questions than answers.

  There was only one way to find out.

  Kieran closed the distance and leaned in to sniff Bradley’s neck. He could smell the sweat and anger, but there was no fear. But there was another chemical scent.

  “Have you figured it out yet?” Bradley asked.

  “What is it?” Kieran snapped back.

  “Oh, not all of our research went to waste after you were rescued. I still have a few tricks up my sleeve.”

  “You won’t need sleeves when I rip off your arms,” Jackson told him as he slammed Bradley back into the wall.

  Bradley grunted in pain, but never stopped smiling.

  “You won’t kill me,” Bradley said. “Neither of you.”

  He hated this man so much. He wanted to rip out Bradley’s throat, but he was hesitating. “I wouldn’t be too sure about that,” Kieran told Bradley.

  “But I am,” Bradley said. “You want answers. Answers only I can provide.”

  “That’s what the doctor said too. I didn’t kill him, by the way, not yet.”

  Bradley jerked. Kieran also picked up the scent of worry.

  “Yep.” Kieran leaned close. “I only need one of you.”

  “Actually,” Bradley said, “You only need me. Since the good doctor doesn’t know where Caspar is.”

  “I’m not falling for that,” Kieran told him. “Caspar isn’t even in town.”

  “And he won’t be. I have him stashed away.”

  There was no increase in breathing—his heartbeat remained steady. He didn’t appear to be lying.

  “We might not be able to kill you, but we can make you hurt,” Kieran stated.

  Jackson snapped his head to Kieran. “What?”

  “I need to verify Caspar’s okay,” Kieran told him.

  Jackson snarled. “But I still get to hurt him?”

  “Just don’t bite him,” Kieran cautioned.

  “Why not?” Jackson demanded. “We had a plan!”

  “There’s something off in his scent,” Kieran advised.

  “Fine,” Jackson muttered, then threw Bradley across the room.

  Kieran raced over and picked him back up before tossing him back at Jackson. Jackson laughed as he caught Bradley before lifting him over his head and slamming him down on top of the desk. Jackson’s fists were flying so fast Kieran’s sight could barely keep up with the punches.

  Blood sprayed from Bradley’s face, but Kieran didn’t stop his friend. Not yet, anyway. He stood back and let Jackson get his revenge. Bradley was a shifter and would be able to heal, although it would take a while. As long as Bradley could talk, that was all Kieran needed.

  Jackson roared as he lifted his arm again.

  Kieran caught Jackson’s wrist. “I think that’s enough for now.” He nodded at the unconscious man lying on the desk.

  “It’s not enough. He shouldn’t be allowed to live.”

  Kieran cupped Jackson’s face. “We’re not killers anymore. Neither one of us. If he doesn’t give us the information we need, I can’t say we have any use for him, but he will suffer every day he does live.”

  “I’m pretty sure you broke a guard’s neck earlier,” Jackson pointed out.

  “Yeah.” He hadn’t forgotten. “But I actually didn’t mean to. We can’t murder Bradley just for the sake of killing him.”

  “I really want to,” Jackson said.

  “I know, fuck, I know. But we’re better than him. Everything we went through and we’re not monsters.”

  “When did you decide this?”

  “Earlier, when Dakota stopped me from biting the doctor. I thought I would kill the man instantly the moment I saw him, but I didn’t. Shit, I can’t explain it.”

  “It’s because as hard as you try to fight it, you really are a good man,” Jackson said.

  Kieran snorted. “I’m not a saint, so don’t make me out to be one.”

  “Yeah, but, K,” Jackson said and dropped to his knees, “We got him. Tell me it’s over. I need to hear the words come from you.”

  Kieran pulled Jackson close and held him. “We got him. It’s over.” He repeated the words until Jackson was saying them with him.

  “I’m okay now,” Jackson assured him.

  Kieran patted Jackson’s back a few times before releasing his friend. He stood up and bent over Bradley’s prone body. “Allow me to carry him out.” He grabbed Bradley’s hair and dragged him off the desk then walked to the door.

  Kieran towed the eagle shifter behind him and through the bodies of the guards that were still out. “I can hear others coming,” Kieran informed Jackson.

  Jackson nodded before he kicked one of the shifter guards in the ribs.

  “Really?” Kieran asked with a laugh.

  “Just making sure he’s still out.”

  Just as Kieran reached the gap, two Organization agents barreled through. They stopped as they spotted Kieran and Jackson. Kieran vaguely recognized them, but that didn’t matter.

  “Secure all the guards and get them transported to the office. We’ll want to question them as soon as possible,” Kieran ordered them.

  “Yes, sir,” one of the agents replied. “We’ll get it done personally.”

  Kieran nodded and waited until they stepped to the side before dragging Bradley through the opening. He could hear a lot more activity echoing through the caves than before. There was a full-on Organization operation happening. It sounded like their backup had arrived. That meant the kidnapped shifters must have been found.

  “We saved them,” Kieran whispered. It was a reminder this was about more than what had happened to him and Jackson. If Kieran hadn’t been captured and tortured all those years ago, then he wouldn’t have known where or how to find the shifters and Alex this time.

  Both Bradley and the doctor had a lot to answer for. But Kieran would keep his promise to Jackson too. Bradley wouldn’t get the chance to hurt anyone ever again. Once Kieran got the answers he needed, he would end Bradley’s life and the doctor’s as well. They’d unleashed too much horror onto others to be able to live out the rest of their lives. Even lives in an Organization jail.

  When he reached the center room, he saw Dakota helping a wolf shifter and Damon carrying Alex.

  “Alex!” Jackson pushed past Kieran and raced to his friend.

  Dakota looked over at him then down at Bradley. She smiled. “You got him.”

  “Yep.” Kieran let Bradley drop from his grasp. “And he’s going to give me answers.”

  She nodded. “I know.”

  The young shifter leaning on her swayed and she tightened her grip. Kieran went to go for her, but Dakota shook her head. “I’ve got Max. You make sure Bradley gets transported back to the office. Gabe and Dare already have the doctor.”
<
br />   “You sure?” She looked exhausted to him.

  “Yeah,” she assured him. “I’ll meet you back at the office.”

  He nodded. Dakota smiled at him again before murmuring to the wolf shifter she was helping. They shuffled forward. Jackson held Alex in his arms and the look of relief was apparent.

  Kieran bent down and grabbed Bradley by the back of his neck. He let most of Bradley’s body scrape against the cave the entire time he dragged him out. Once he was in the fresh air again, Kieran realized just how bad the scents inside the cave were.

  The sun shone down on him bright and hot. They must have been inside for hours, even though it hadn’t seemed that long. He lifted his face to the sky and soaked in the warmth. It didn’t actually offer him much in the way of heat but, mentally, it helped.

  There had been a time when he’d thought he would never see the sun again. At first the doctor had tried to figure out the whole vampires-plus-sun myth, but that had quickly been abandoned. The doctor had been more impressed by the speed at which Kieran healed.

  Kieran didn’t understand the experiments the doctor had been doing and he didn’t want to. The entire idea of mixing shifter and Walker genes was just crazy. A person couldn’t be turned into either, had to be born with the gift, so he didn’t know what the outcome of the so-called research would even be. Kieran found the thought very disturbing.

  “Hey, you okay?”

  Kieran looked over to Remy. “Fine, you?”

  “Good,” Remy answered. “We found Alex and some of the shifters.”

  “Just some?”

  “We recovered the bodies of the rest. We were right. There were more than we originally thought. I don’t know if they weren’t reported missing or what, but we have a dozen dead.”

  “Jesus.” Kieran felt ill. “They killed that many?”

  “Yeah.”

  He still had a hold on Bradley. Kieran lifted him up to look at the despicable face of a monster. He roared and threw Bradley. He hit the side of an SUV, denting it.

  “K!” Remy grabbed his arm.

  “Why would they do this?” Kieran asked.

  “I don’t know but we’ll find out. They didn’t get away this time.”