"Hello there, little lady,” he said, sauntering into the room. “Fancy us meeting again."
Marlie raised the barrel of the shotgun, trembling so violently that she had trouble keeping it steady.
"Shoot him!” Lanie yelled, hiding behind her.
"They want to keep him alive!” Marlie said.
"Screw that! Kill the bastard!"
Before Marlie could even cock the hammer, Sean pounced, ripping the gun out of her hands so fast that she squealed in disbelief. He tossed it behind him and lunged for her. At that same moment, Rogan ran into the room and jumped on top of Sean's back, curling his arm around his neck in a choke hold.
"You're not going to lay a finger on my wife!” he growled into Sean's ear.
Sean tried to unseat Rogan a few times, but to no avail. His face was turning redder by the second, but that didn't stop him from changing his body right in front of them, shifting into the giant Kodiak he could become and tearing out of his clothing. Rogan could no longer hold on to his massive neck, and with one shake from Sean, he went flying across the room. The bear turned to attack him as he lay prone on the floor.
Marlie could see the can of bear repellant Rogan must have dropped in the struggle. Picking it up, she yelled at Sean.
"Hey, you ugly bastard! If it's me you want, come and get me!"
"Marlie, what the hell are you doing?” Lanie yelled, backing into the corner.
Sean turned to look at her, growling and snarling as foam dripped from his jaws. Marlie's heart was beating a mile a minute, but she stood her ground, terrified beyond her wits. Grasping the can of spray with her right hand, she brought it up just as Sean moved toward her and sprayed the bear fully in the face.
She watched as he shrieked in pain. Again and again he swiped his paws in his face, as if desperate to rub the sting from his eyes. It didn't take long before the other shifters appeared in the doorway, Noah and Wade leveling their rifles at Sean.
"Wait!” Rogan shouted, crawling on all fours to reach the tranquilizer gun he'd dropped in the fray. But just as he grabbed it, the massive bear knocked him over and straddled him on the floor.
"ROGAN!" Marlie cried out, her tears streaming down her face. Sheer terror entered her heart when she realized she was about to lose her husband—again. “Rogan, no!"
The loud crack of a gun shot rang through the room, and Sean's bellows became sluggish as his large head bowed closer and closer to Rogan on the floor. The bear slowly shifted, his body distorting and changing shape back into Sean, whose entire face was red and puffy from the repellant.
"I'm going to ... kill you ... you fu—"
With that, Sean collapsed on top of Rogan, who immediately kicked him off. Marlie's heart resumed beating when she saw the tranquilizer dart sticking out of Sean's belly.
"Someone inject him. Now!” Rogan commanded, standing from the floor.
Jet ran in with a syringe of serum and stuck Sean in the neck. Once that was done, the others clambered into the room and dragged him away, intent on carrying out phase two of their plan.
Noah crossed the room and grabbed Lanie in a swift hug, kissing her like there was no tomorrow. Marlie looked at them then glanced at Rogan, who crossed the room in much the same way. Grabbing her arm none too gently, he crushed her to him, lowering his mouth to hers and tasting deeply. Marlie could barely keep up with his onslaught, but she clutched onto him fervently, knowing full well the extent of his relief.
"I could have lost you,” he whispered to her once he released her lips.
"Rogan, you scared the shit out of me,” Marlie said, making him chuckle.
"I was just about to say the same thing to you,” he said, giving her another kiss.
"That didn't happen quite the way you'd planned, did it?"
Rogan shook his head. “No. Sean came after you instead. Didn't see that one coming."
Sniffling, Marlie laid her head on his chest and listened to his galloping heartbeat. “Why do you think he came after me instead of you?” she asked in a small voice.
"He wants to make me suffer, sweetheart. He wants to kill you while I watch."
"Jesus,” she whispered.
"You said it."
"Do you think your ropes will hold him?"
"We've given him the serum, which means he won't be able to shift for another four hours. We have enough doses to hit him eight more times if we need to. So that's about thirty-six hours right there."
"What happens if he manages to escape?” she asked.
Rogan swallowed hard before answering. “Then we're gonna have to kill him."
Thirty Two
"Make sure his bonds are tight,” Rogan ordered. “I don't want this son of a bitch breaking free."
He watched as Mac, Jet, and Tyler bound an unconscious Sean to a chair. Not only were his wrists tied behind the back of the chair, a length of rope also went around his chest and arms, holding him upright. Another strip of rope was tied around his thighs, holding him to the seat, while a third piece of rope secured his ankles to the legs of the chair.
"How long is he going to be out?” Jason asked as he stood next to Rogan and watched the others tie him up.
"I don't know. Another hour at least. But he won't be able to shift."
"Look what I found!” Wade exclaimed as he came downstairs with a pile of Sean's ruined clothing.
"What?"
"His cell phone."
Wade held it up in his hand to show everyone as he grinned from ear to ear. He flipped it open but frowned after a few minutes.
"What's wrong?” Rogan asked, stepping close to look over his shoulder.
"Sean doesn't have anyone in his speed dial. Damn it!"
"Try his call history,” Noah said, attempting to fix what was left of the front door.
"Ooh, good idea."
Marlie padded over to Rogan and, without a word, gently took his hand. He glanced down at her and squeezed but didn't say anything either. She smiled at him.
"Clive Covington,” Wade said suddenly.
"Clive who?” Jet asked.
"Covington. That's who he's been calling. He doesn't call anyone else."
"Weird."
"Spoke to him just today—right around the time our scientist friend decided to do his disappearing act."
"No shit?” Rogan said, raising his brow. “Then this Covington must be the guy—like THE guy. If we find out where this man is, we might be able to take the fight to him."
Noah gave up on the door and propped it up against the wall before wandering back over to them in the dining room, scratching his head. “Clive Covington? Now why does that name ring a bell?"
"You've heard of this guy?” Wade asked, holding up the phone.
"Yeah, somewhere. I don't know where though."
"Maybe you heard his name at the B*E*A*S*T* agency,” Rogan said. “If he was a bigwig there, it's possible we might have heard his name from the scientists talking amongst themselves."
"I guess,” Noah said. “But it seems to me it was from something much more recent. I don't know."
"I should call him,” Wade said.
"Don't be an idiot, Cougar.” Rogan scowled at him. “We don't even know who he is or why Sean's been talking to him. Just wait until after we've interrogated Sean."
Wade growled but snapped the phone shut. Stuffing it into his pocket, he said, “Fine. I'll wait. But until then, you guys got a computer?"
"Um, yeah,” Noah replied. “This house came fully decked out, equipped with a computer, Internet and everything.” He led Wade down the hall to the family room.
"Do you think Sean's going to tell us what we want to know?” Marlie asked Rogan in her timid voice, staring at Sean and still clutching Rogan's hand.
"I don't know, honey,” he said, draping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her close. “But there's too much at stake here not to at least try and get some answers out of him."
"What are we going to do when we run out of serum?�
� she wanted to know.
Rogan shuddered. “I've got no goddamn idea."
* * * *
Wade hadn't even been sitting at the computer for a full minute before chills ran up and down his spine. After opening up an Internet browser, he'd searched for Clive Covington. What he found made his blood run cold.
"Rogan! Noah!" he yelled, standing from his chair so fast that it fell over.
Within moments, both of them rushed into the room. “What is it, Wade?” Rogan asked with his eyes wide.
"Jesus, you're not going to believe who this man is!” Wade exclaimed, pointing at the computer screen and backing away as if it were a poisonous snake.
Noah leaned over the desk to look at the monitor and gasped himself.
"What?” Rogan asked again.
Noah straightened and stared at him. “Covington is a United States senator. From Texas."
Rogan's eyes went wide as he looked at Wade, who was biting his lip. A senator? He could hardly believe what he'd just read. Covington was not only a senator, but apparently he had his eye on the White House for the upcoming elections in November.
"Oh my God,” Noah whispered, reading further. “I know why this man's name was so familiar to me. I saw him on the news the other night! Lanie and I were watching a little TV, and he was on the news, smiling and shaking people's hands. I think he donated money to some hospital or something."
"This is the man behind B*E*A*S*T*?” Rogan said, glancing back and forth between Noah and Wade. “A senator who wants to become president? Holy shit, what if he wins the election in November? Christ!” He paced back and forth, running his hands through his hair brutally.
Wade growled low in the back of his throat. “He won't if I have anything to do with it."
"Now, Wade,” Rogan said with a sigh. “We can't go doing anything rash."
"Rash? RASH?" Wade looked incredulous. “Rogan, for God's sake, he made us into freaks! Monsters! We can NOT let this man win his bid for the White House."
"So what are you proposing we do?"
"Get all the information out of Sean that we can, then find Covington and end this once and for all."
"It's not going to be that easy, Wade,” Rogan said. “We know Sean isn't the only one in the picture. Brett's a part of this too. God only knows how many shifters this man has behind him. Not to mention tight security."
A suffocating anger rose up within Wade. He balled his hands into fists in order to resist shifting and racing to Texas right then to rip out the bastard's throat. Who did Covington think he was, playing God with men's DNA?
Wade had been tortured to within an inch of his life while he'd been inside the walls of the B*E*A*S*T* compound. He wasn't about to sit idly by and let this asshole—this MONSTER—get away with what he'd done.
"I don't know what we're going to do,” Wade said, his voice low. “But we've got to do something."
* * * *
Rogan smiled as Sean came to, his head bobbing this way and that on his shoulders. They'd moved him to the garage to get him out of the house and also to interrogate him. Rogan knew things might get a little nasty. After the scare Marlie had gotten already, Rogan wasn't about to put her through any more grief. It would only upset her more.
Armed with two syringes—one of the serum, the other of tranquilizer—both Noah and Wade held their rifles aimed at Sean's chest. Rogan brought another chair out to the garage, seating it just a few feet away from him. He straddled it, crossing his arms over the back of the chair and laying his chin on his arms.
Once Sean was fully conscious, he looked up and saw Rogan. Immediately, he began snarling and yanking on his bonds.
"Won't do you any good,” Rogan said with a grin. “We tied you tight, my friend."
"I am NOT your friend!” Sean spat the words in his face.
Rogan wiped his eyes. “Well, that's an understatement.” He gave Sean a damning glare. “We want to know who you work for."
Sean chuckled. “You think I'm going to just give you that information?"
Wade walked up and twirled his gun in his hands a moment before cracking Sean on the side of the head with the butt of the rifle.
"Yeah, that's what we had in mind,” he said.
Sean looked dazed a second before shaking it off. “Do you think that by giving me the serum that any of you saved your own lives? I'm going to kill you all one by one, and delight in eating your remains."
"If you don't mind me pointing it out,” Rogan said with a cocky grin, “it looks like we have the upper hand here, not you."
"I'm not telling you a damned thing!” Sean snapped. “You can torture me all you want. I've suffered worse at the hands of B*E*A*S*T*."
"Oh, I don't doubt it,” Rogan said, nodding his head. “But you see, you went after my wife. And no one threatens Marlie and gets away with it."
"You're a pussy, Wolfe. Always have been. That's why you couldn't kill me in Alaska. You don't have it in you to be a killer."
"Is that what you think?"
"That's what I know."
"Dr. Lucian Carver seems to think different. He told me about a few fights I'd been involved in before the one with you—fights they didn't let me remember. He said I was a most efficient killer."
Sean's face visibly paled. “When did you talk to Carver?"
"Does it matter?"
Narrowing his eyes, Sean said, “You're lying."
Rogan shook his head. “I'm afraid not. You can't tell me you ran upstairs and didn't smell the bastard. Oh, he was here. And he had a few things to say."
Sean just growled in reply.
"Maybe they called off our fight because they knew I would win,” Rogan said, enjoying the chance to taunt him.
Sean's growl became a snarl.
"Maybe they knew I wouldn't be merciful; that I'd rip you apart,” Rogan said, arching a brow.
Sean thrashed in the chair.
The side of Rogan's mouth lifted in a sneer of his own. He'd definitely hit a chord. He'd had a sneaking suspicion about why Sean Ross hated him so much, and now it was confirmed. The man couldn't stand the thought that he'd lost their fight and that the scientists had ended it to save his life.
"How do you know it wasn't the other way around, Wolfe?” Sean yelled. “How do you know they didn't stop the fight because they were worried for you?"
"Because I wasn't the one bleeding."
Sean tried hard to break free until the business end of Noah's rifle suddenly lifted his chin, making him rethink his actions.
"Why don't you calm down a bit, hmm?” Noah said, pressing the barrel into Sean's neck.
Sean glared up at him but said nothing as he foamed at the mouth.
"Let's try this again,” Rogan said, once again resting his chin against his arms on the back of the chair. “Who is Clive Covington?"
Sean's eyes flashed for a moment but said nothing. Noah cocked his rifle, and the sound of it echoed in the empty garage.
"Nobody,” Sean finally said.
"Hmm, that's funny,” Wade said, his voice laced with sarcasm. “Because your cell phone says you called nobody about twenty-five times."
With a growl, Sean stared straight at Rogan. “I'm going to kill your wife. I'm going to kill her and feast on her remains. Then I'm going to find a hole and fu—"
The butt of Wade's gun once again cracked against the side of Sean's skull. “You gotta focus here, big guy,” Wade whispered into his ear. “Who is Covington?"
Rogan fidgeted in his seat. Hearing Sean talking so brutally about Marlie made his skin crawl. He knew Sean would be able to smell his annoyed scent, but there was no helping it. And hearing exactly what Sean had planned for Marlie didn't sit well with him. His protective, possessive emotions were coming into play.
"She's going to taste so good, Wolfe,” Sean went on. “I'm going to eat her. And then I'm going to EAT her."
This time it was Noah who cracked him in the head. Sean spit blood onto the concrete floor.
"You are a psychotic son of a bitch.” Rogan growled and stood up, then he bent over to be right in Sean's face. “You can't stand the fact that I'm better than you. You can't stand the thought of knowing that I would have killed you in that ring so long ago. It burns inside of you, doesn't it? Festering like the plague, eating at your heart until all you can see is your own revenge. You don't even care how you get it, do you? As long as you kill Rogan Wolfe. As long as you come out victorious. Will that make you feel more like a man, Grizzly? Will killing Marlie compensate for the fact that you can't possibly be half the man that I am?"
"Killing your wife will give me the satisfaction of watching you become nothing more than a broken shell of a man,” Sean said, spitting blood into Rogan's face.
Rogan calmly wiped it off and stood up straight. With a nod, he said, “Makes sense. That's the only way you could win a fight against me, isn't it?"
Sean suddenly roared, fighting against his bonds like a man possessed.
"You should give up now, Grizzly,” Rogan said, stepping further away. “I've already bested you twice. Once in Alaska and once here."
Wade shook his head. “Nope, Wolfe, you got that wrong. You've bested him three times."
"Oh, is it three?” Rogan pondered, tapping his chin.
"Yup. You're forgetting your pit fight at the B*E*A*S*T* compound."
"Oh, that's right! Make that three times."
"Bastard!" Sean screamed. “I'm going to kill—"
Rogan spun on Sean and punched him square in the jaw, releasing all his strength as a shifter upon the unsuspecting man. Sean's chair toppled and he hit the ground hard.
"I've heard all that before!” Rogan yelled at him. “Can't you come up with anything new?"
Sean was seething. Rogan could see it in his eyes, but he was beyond caring. The bastard had crossed so many lines that Rogan was a hair away from killing him there on the floor.
"We know who Covington is, Sean,” he growled as he bent down to look into his eyes. “He's a senator from Texas, isn't he? Thinks he can get into the White House and create some kind of super army. For what? The War on Terror?"
B*E*A*S*T* of Burden Page 15