Buried and Shadowed (Branded Packs #3)(40)

An unexpected blush had stained her ivory skin before she ducked her head to study the file with a fierce concentration.

Rios’s cat stilled, his hunting instincts on full alert. Well, well. His pretty wolf wasn’t completely indifferent to him, after all.

She cleared her throat, pointing a manicured finger at a notation in the medical report.

“It says here that the patient claimed he’d recently received a flu shot at the Verona Clinic.”

He dropped his hand. First, they’d work. Then…

His cat purred in anticipation.

“The clinic denied it, of course,” he said.

She flipped to the end of the file. “Do we have any corroborating evidence?”

He pointed toward a stack of files on the table. “We have stories from a half-dozen other patients who made the same claim,” he assured her. “Plus, the Alpha of the Golden Pack has evidence that the clinic was actually testing a strain of Ebola that they intended to weaponize.”

She shuddered. Shifters had plenty of faults. They were hot-tempered, territorial, and enjoyed the occasional brawl. But when they fought, it was with teeth and claws. They didn’t invent hideous weapons that were meant to destroy huge swaths of the population.

“Why didn’t the officials investigate?”

Rios nodded, well aware she was asking the questions that she expected to receive when they came out of the shadows to renounce the SAU.

“At first, they were searching for the corporation that was funding the research,” he said. “They could close the clinic, but unless they knew who’d actually paid to have the virus released into the world, they couldn’t be sure that it wouldn’t happen again. Then the virus became a pandemic, and everything went to hell. It wasn’t until the vaccine was created to halt the spread of the plague that they tried to discover what had actually happened. By then, most of the proof had been destroyed.”

Reaching into the pocket of her gloriously tight skirt, she pulled out a razor-thin phone and started taking notes.

“Do we have any information on who was behind the destruction of evidence?”

Rios reached for another file. This one sent a blast of fury through him.

“That’s when Colonel Ranney made his first appearance,” he said, handing her the manila folder.

Her brows drew together as she flipped through the papers. “The head of the SAU?”

“He wasn’t at the time.” Rios leaned to the side, pulling out the glossy pamphlet that showed a large, silver-haired man who looked like someone’s kindly grandfather. Rios had devoted months to doing research on the Colonel, discovering that behind his toothy smile and practiced charm was a cold-hearted bastard who would sell his own mother if he thought he could make a profit. “Before the outbreak, he was actually the owner of Bellum International.”

She took the pamphlet from his fingers. “What’s that?”

“A defense contractor,” Rios explained. “He started as a glorified gunrunner before going legit. Over the years, he provided a variety of weapons to whatever army was willing to pay his exorbitant fees.”

Bree dropped the pamphlet into the file, wiping her fingers on her skirt. Rios didn’t blame her. Just the thought of what Ranney represented was enough to make him feel soiled.

“What did he have to do with the clinic?”

Rios released a growl of frustration. “I haven’t been able to track down a connection, but he’s the one who was suddenly in charge of the investigation.”

Bree made a quick note on her phone. “He did the cover-up.”

“Yep. And he was very clever.” Rios grasped the remaining pile of folders. “He didn’t give one explanation and let it go.”

She frowned. “What did he do?”

“He leaked one story after another.” Rios curled his lips with disgust. “He said the shifters had tainted the flu shots.” He tossed a folder on the table. “He said that it was the shifters’ bite that caused the plague.” Another file hit the table. “He said it was humans who were creating mutant animals to take over the world.” He dropped the remaining files. So far, he’d managed to discover over a dozen stories Ranney had strategically leaked over the years.

“Why so many?”

“Because a good investigator could have followed one rumor to prove or disprove the truth of it,” Rios explained. “It’s much more difficult to pin down theories that are constantly changing.”

She glanced toward the table covered with files before returning her gaze to study his tightly clenched jaw. She had on her professional ‘anchor face,’ which meant it was impossible to read her expression. But the scalding heat of her anger was a tangible force.

“Especially when it was easier to blame it on the animals and lock us in cages,” she growled.

He gave a grim nod. “Exactly.”

Her wolf glowed in her eyes, her beauty so luminous, Rios abruptly forgot how to breathe.

“I hope very much to meet Colonel Ranney,” she said in fierce tones. “Preferably alone in a dark alley.”

He leaned forward, savoring the raw heat of her animal.

“If you intend to sink your teeth into the Colonel, you’re going to have to get in line, querida,” he said, his gaze lowering to the delicious curve of her lips.