“We’ll get him.” Sam stands as voices come to the door. Layne enters first, a petite Asian woman with a faint smell of chemicals. She worked in a Data-X lab until Sam blew it up. A huge wolf is behind her. Jackson-a successful businessman with an info security company. I rise as Jackson approaches me. He’s huge, and dominant, his wolf lighting his eyes. My lion is very aware of him and Layne-who’s more dominant than she looks.
“Nash.” Jackson shakes my hand. “I’ve heard a lot about you. My mate and I will put every resource we have at your disposal.” He nods to Denali, including her.
“Thanks,” I say.
I’m so fucking humbled. I’ve done nothing for any of these guys and yet they’re all here to help me.
“Kylie is already searching the cyber underground for any sign of Santiago’s men,” Layne murmurs from the corner.
“We have a helicopter and private jet ready as soon as we have news.”
“Thank you.” Denali lets out a shaky breath. I nod, unable to speak. In the tight space, my animal isn’t happy about so many alphas near my vulnerable mate.
Not that she’s my mate anymore. I thoroughly fucked that up when I abandoned her and left our cub defenseless against the monster who stole him.
“I’m going to go help Kylie,” Jackson says, and Layne follows him out of the room.
“These are your friends?” Denali asks in a whisper.
I shrug. “Friends of friends.” I tighten my fists to keep from reaching for her. I need to touch her, but she shook off my touch when I first arrived. I don’t want to push it.
The door opens again, and a woman slips in. Petite, blonde, human. A wolf enters with her, another giant, dominant male with tattoos on his hands and crawling up his neck. He hovers over the human female, who shares his scent. She also bears his mark.
“Denali?” The woman comes straight to my mate, kneels and takes my mate’s hands. “I’m Amber.” She looks up from her non-threatening position with eyes filled with compassion and some of the tension to leaks out of the room. “I’m here to help find Nolan.”
My mate swallows. “How?”
Amber glances at the big wolf before answering. “I’m psychic. I… see things sometimes. Flashes of people’s experiences.”
“Amber has a gift,” the big wolf says softly. His tattooed hand brushes her hair and Amber seems to draw strength from his touch.
The psychic draws in a breath. “Do you have anything of Nolan’s here? A piece of clothing or something?”
“I do,” Laurie says when no one speaks up. The skinny shifter ambles forward, offering a little toy car. “The wheel fell off and he gave it to me to fix.”
“He must like you,” Denali whispers, tears gathering in her eyes. “It’s his favorite.” Her body shakes a little and I hold her tighter.
“All right.” Amber takes the toy and cups it in her hand. “Can you tell me a little about Nolan?”
Denali’s shaking intensifies. She’s trying, and failing, to hold it together.
“We’ll leave you two alone,” Parker murmurs. He, Declan, and Laurie head for the door. I stand, not sure what to do. Amber immediately takes my place, leaning close to my mate and murmuring with her.
“Nash.” The big wolf offers his hand to shake. “Just wanted to introduce myself. I’m Garrett, alpha of the Tucson pack. I’ve got the top guys in my pack here. As soon as we get intel, we’re all ready to fly to find Santiago and fight.”
I can barely nod with gratitude.
Garrett cracks his knuckles. “It’s about time we went after Santiago. He had my sister kidnapped last year. Her mate is alpha in Mexico, where Santiago had his headquarters for many years. They haven’t seen anything of him since he escaped when it all came out.”
Sam slips in and glances at the two females. “Anything?”
“Not yet,” Garrett says in a low voice. Just then Amber sucks in a breath, tilting back her head, eyes closed.
Sam holds out his phone recorder and catches Garrett’s eye, waiting for the big wolf to nod before he kneels close to Amber and turns the recorder on.
“Lots of emotion in here,” Amber mumbles. “Lots of people who care about Nolan. Eyes still closed, she holds out her hand and Denali takes it.
“I sense him. He’s frightened, but safe. Men in black, with guns.” A slight smile crosses her lips. “I think he’s in cub form, so he can bite them if they get too close. I see cage bars-they’re keeping him locked up. But he hasn’t been hurt.”
Denali goes limp like a puppet whose strings have been cut. Her head drops against her and Amber’s hand. I move to squeeze Denali’s shoulder, and she grabs my hand with her free one.
The contact with her runs through me like a jolt of electricity, energizing, harmonizing. My head clears, focus sharpens.
“They’re speaking in Spanish. They’re saying…” Amber falls silent and I fight the urge to demand she tell us what they said. I sure as hell hope she speaks Spanish. As the seconds tick by, her forehead creases. She twitches a little and whimpers. “No-” She ducks her head and raises her arms to protect herself. A few seconds pass.
“Amber?” Garrett rumbles. His own temples are wet with sweat.
The human blows out a breath and lets her arms down with a sigh. “They tranqued him. They’re moving him somewhere. I heard one of the guards say Honduras.” Amber sags. Garrett lifts her, and she curls up in his arms, pressing against his giant body.
“It’s okay, baby,” he murmurs. “You did good.” He looks at Sam. “You got all that?”
“Yeah.” Sam rises. “Jackson and Kylie are sweeping the darknet for anything they can find. I’ll tell them.”