Stolen and Forgiven (Branded Packs #1)(64)

“And if I won’t?” she challenged.

The older man shrugged. “I’ll start sending him your body parts.”

The breath was yanked from her lungs at his casual cruelty. What sort of villain could threaten to chop up a person and send her body parts to her father?

It was…evil. Pure evil.

She gave a disbelieving shake of her head. “You hurt me and my father and he’ll destroy you,” she warned in husky tones.

His nose flared as if he smelled something rotten. “Careful, Ms. Wilder. Shifters who threaten me usually end up dead.”

She believed him. She truly, truly did.

She licked her dry lips. “What do you want with my father?”

If possible, the Director’s expression became even more arctic.

“Let’s just say he’s never been eager to assist the SAU,” he said, his hatred toward Jonah Wilder a tangible force. “Having you as our guest will hopefully encourage his cooperation.” The man’s reptilian eyes glittered in the light of the naked light bulb that was hanging from the ceiling. “Make the call.”

She tilted her chin despite the fear that thundered through her.

“I’m not going to lead him into a trap,” she muttered.

“He won’t be hurt,” Markham promised. “And neither will you if you do as I ask.”

Cora rolled her eyes. Did the humans think she was stupid? “I keep hearing that, but I don’t believe you any more than the other man.”

The Director stiffened, clearly caught off guard. “Other man?”

Cora licked her lips. Could she play the two men against each other?

At the moment, discord among the humans was her only weapon.

“The doctor who was just in here taking samples,” she said.

Markham struggled to conceal his flare of anger. “Doctor?”

“Dr. Frank Talbot.”

“He was here?”

“Yes.” Cora didn’t need her heightened senses to know that the man was furious at the thought of the doctor visiting her without his approval. “Just a few minutes ago.”

“What did he want?”

She shrugged. “He took my blood and shoved a cotton swab into my mouth.” She deliberately paused, glancing down at her bare toes with a pretense of innocence. “He took off when he heard you coming. I don’t know why.”

There was a tense silence before Markham leaned forward to snatch the phone off the cot and pressed it into her unwilling hand.

“Make the call, Ms. Wilder.”

She glared into his flushed face. “I don’t trust you.”

“Don’t push me,” he warned between clenched teeth, his icy composure in danger of shattering. “Either you make the call, or I have Grant start cutting.”

Cora hesitated. The last thing she wanted was to put her father in danger. She’d endure any amount of torture if she knew he was safe.

But she wasn’t naive.

She knew that Jonah Wilder would go psycho if parts of her started showing up on his doorstep. Hell, he would burn the world to cinders to get her back.

Swallowing a growl, Cora lifted the phone and tapped in her father’s number…

****

It’d taken every bit of Soren’s skill to track the intruders after they’d climbed into their vehicles. Thankfully, they’d tossed Cora into a Jeep with a loose canvas top that had allowed her scent to escape.

Keeping to the shadows to avoid attracting unwanted attention, he’d followed the trail from the compound to a narrow road that wound along the outskirts of Denver. Somehow, he’d assumed they would be headed to the nearby airbase. Or even the large military hospital. Instead, they continued northward.

At last, the vehicles slowed at the edge of Boulder and turned into a long drive.

Coming to a halt at the heavily secured fence that surrounded a large lot, Soren studied the distant brick building.

The SAU headquarters.

It had to be.

Battling back his urge to storm the front gate, Soren had instead circled to the vast wilderness behind the building. His wolf form was perfect for tracking the intruders, but he couldn’t approach the guards as an animal.

He would be shot on sight.

Jogging along a narrow stream, he halted at a human campsite to ‘borrow’ a pair of jeans and a thick jacket he could use to cover his naked body. He also grabbed a heavy woolen scarf he could wrap around his neck to disguise the collar. Finally, he pulled a stocking hat over his hair and spilled a can of beer over himself.

At a glance, he looked like a drunken idiot who’d become lost in the thick forest.

To emphasize the pretense of helpless stupidity, he swayed and stumbled his way down a narrow path that led directly to the back gate.

He was nearly at the ten-foot fence that surrounded the perimeter when a guard stepped from a small, wooden building and glared at Soren.

Dressed in a heavy camouflage coat and matching pants, the guard towered six-foot-six at least, with the broad muscles of a weight lifter. As if that weren’t enough, he held an AK-47 in one hand.

“Stop,” he snapped. “This is private property.”

Soren stumbled to a halt, smiling with goofy relief. “Oh, thank God,” he muttered in slurred tones. “I didn’t think I would ever find civilization again.”