Abandoned and Unseen (Branded Packs #2)(57)

At first glance, he looked like he was asleep, but as Nicole stepped forward, he abruptly lifted his head to glance at them in astonishment.

“What the hell?” he muttered, his gaze moving to Tucker, who towered in the background before returning to Nicole. “If you’re here to rob me, then you’re f*cking idiots. I don’t have jack shit…” His words trailed away as his eyes widened with a sudden recognition. “You,” he breathed.





Chapter 7


Nicole allowed a cold smile to curve her lips. She was pleased that the guard recognized her. She wanted him to know exactly why he was about to die.

“Yes, me.” She watched as he shakily shoved himself off the couch, his face a pasty shade of ash. “Hello, Ian.”

The man inched to the side. Was he hoping he could somehow sneak his way to the front door?

Idiot.

“How did you find me?”

She released a short laugh that echoed through the room. “Did you think you could avoid justice forever?”

He held up his hands in an unspoken plea for mercy. “Listen, what happened-”

“You mean the cold-blooded murder of my son?” she interrupted, ice coating each word.

He licked his lips, a trickle of sweat inching from his forehead down his unshaven cheek. He didn’t look the same as the guard who’d shot Bowe.

Although she’d only gotten a brief glance, the man’s face had been seared into her mind.

Now she realized that he’d lost at least twenty pounds. His clothes hung on his gaunt frame as if he couldn’t be bothered to buy anything that fit. And his hair had thinned. There were also new lines on his face, giving him the appearance of having aged at least twenty years instead of seven.

But the biggest change was the lack of swagger.

Even after shooting a mere child, he’d strutted around as if he’d done something amazing. Today, he looked as if he’d spent the past years on a drunken binge.

“It wasn’t my fault,” he whined.

“Lies.” She stepped forward as the coward continued to inch to the side. Tucker followed closely behind her, his heat wrapping around her with unspoken support. “Your fellow guards already told me that you pulled the trigger.”

“I was ordered to do it,” Ian told her.

Continuing to prowl forward, she made a sound of disgust. “Convenient.”

“No, please.” He bumped into the tall entertainment center behind him, more sweat trickling down his face. “You have to believe me.”

“Nicole.” Tucker covertly brushed his hand down her rigid back. The warmth of his touch was an anchor that allowed her to find her way through the red mist that clouded her mind.

“Talk,” she snapped.

The man’s gaze briefly flickered toward Tucker before returning to Nicole. Clearly he didn’t realize that Tucker was an even greater threat than she was. No surprise. Without a collar or a brand, it was impossible for humans to determine who was or was not a shifter.

That was one of the reasons many people were so anxious to keep them locked behind walls.

“The SAU recruited me to become a guard at the River Pack compound,” he said.

She frowned, not missing the key word. “Recruited from where?”

“The military.”

She studied the wiry form that she could break in two. He didn’t look like a person anyone would choose as a guard.

“Why would they recruit you?”

“Because I was a sharp-shooter.”

She regarded him with growing suspicion. She didn’t give a shit why he’d become a guard. All that mattered was the fact that he’d pulled the trigger. He’d murdered her son.

But the certainty that he was hiding something nagged at the edge of her mind.

Dammit.

Now she had to know.

“There’s a lot of sharp-shooters,” she pointed out, the wolf in her fighting to be released so she could taste his blood on her tongue. “Why you?”

He gave a lift of his shoulder. “I’m the best.”

Her lips curled back, revealing her elongated fangs. “He isn’t going to tell the truth,” she told Tucker with a flare of satisfaction. “I may as well rip out his throat.”

Tucker moved to stand at her side, his arms folded over his massive chest.

“Go for it.”

The man gave a desperate shake of his head. “Hold on.”

Nicole tried to step forward, only to be halted when Tucker grasped the back of her sweater, firmly keeping her in place.

Ignoring her companion, she glared at the face that still haunted her dreams.

“Say it,” she snarled.

His hands gripped the shelves behind him as if his knees were weak with fear. Like most bullies, he turned into a groveling chicken when confronted by someone stronger than him.

“I’d been accused of shooting a fellow solider in the back.”

She heard Tucker hiss a breath through his clenched teeth. He had an ingrained sense of integrity, and would be deeply offended by the man’s confession.

“Why did you shoot him?” she demanded.

Pale eyes flickered. A sure sign that he was about to tell a lie. “It was an accident,” he said. “I was cleaning my gun and it fired.”