Stolen and Forgiven (Branded Packs #1)(74)

“How better to learn your enemies’ secrets than to become one of them?”

Ah. That made sense.

“A spy,” she murmured.

“As long as I haven’t blown my cover,” he muttered, pivoting back toward the heavy steel door to push it open. “Let’s move it.”

Soren gave a low growl, but Cora reluctantly followed the male out of the stairwell and into the narrow corridor.

What choice did they have?

If Sinclair wanted to hurt them, he could have shot the minute he’d opened the door. There would have been no way they could have avoided being injured, maybe even killed.

And if he was leading them into a trap…well, it couldn’t be much worse than being locked in the basement.

That didn’t, however, mean she intended to lower her guard.

Keeping a reasonable distance from the stranger, she continued to probe for information.

“I heard the guard say that you made females disappear,” she said.

He shrugged, his gaze locked on the doorway at the end of the hall. Was he expecting trouble?

“They assume I enjoy rough sex and that I bury the bodies in the mountains,” he explained in off-hand tones. “It’s the only way I could smuggle them out of the building.”

A portion of her dislike for the man eased. “You rescued them,” she breathed.

“Not as many as I would have liked, but I have to be careful not to make my employers suspicious. They’re easy to dismiss as stupid humans, but they’re cunning and dangerous.”

Cora grimaced, recalling how easily they’d managed to kidnap her.

“True.”

Sinclair came to a halt in front of a large window.

“I cut the sensors to the alarm, but there are three guards patrolling the grounds.” He glanced toward the large wolf, who continued to eye him with homicidal anticipation. “You’ll need to keep an eye out for them.”

Cora hesitated. She understood that every passing second increased the odds of them getting caught, but she also knew the only way to get away from the SAU was to take off through the nearby parkland. It was too risky to remain in the neighborhood. Who knew which nearby houses might be owned by the secret government agency?

Which meant she would be away from civilization for the next half hour or more.

“I need to contact my father,” she said, preparing herself for an argument.

Instead, Sinclair reached into the pocket of his jeans to pull out a small black object. With a lift of his hand, he tossed it in Cora’s direction.

“It’s a burner phone,” he told her.

Snatching it out of mid-air, Cora flipped it open and sent a text to her father in the secret code they’d developed years ago. It was the one certain to make sure that he knew it was her.

Beyond a brief reassurance that she and Soren had managed to escape from the SAU, she sent a short warning that the leader intended to try and force him to use his powers as Alpha to create new shifters.

It took a few minutes, but at last, a short text flashed across the screen that assured her Jonah had received her message and was making plans to deal with their enemies.

Sending up a silent prayer that her father wouldn’t do something to get himself killed, Cora shut the phone down and handed it back to Sinclair.

“Here.”

“Keep it,” he said in tones that indicated he was accustomed to giving orders. “And take this.”

She reached to take the folded piece of paper that he’d pulled from his boot. She lifted her brows. He was like a magician producing random items from thin air.

Inanely she wondered how long it took him to get dressed in the morning.

“What is it?” she asked as she smoothed the paper to reveal what looked like a treasure map with a large X marked in the middle.

“A map to an underground bunker that the Unseen use to hide extra food and supplies. You’ll find clothing there, as well as weapons, and if you want, you can take one of the automobiles. We’ll have it picked up later.”

“You drew a map?” She glanced up, her lips twitching with an unexpected flare of amusement. “You know they have this crazy new invention called GPS,” she said.

He peered down the length of his aquiline nose. Cora grimaced. Unseen or not, he had to be an Alpha.

“This is disposable,” he said, tapping the paper. “Plus, I can dismiss it as a silly drawing my niece made for me if it’s ever discovered by the SAU.”

Knowing she was being subtly chastised, Cora couldn’t resist giving the male a little jab.

“Do we need a secret handshake to enter the bunker?” she asked in sweet tones. “Or is there a password.”

“No, I’ll call and warn the guards that you’ll be dropping by.” He deliberately paused. “Hopefully they won’t shoot you.”

Okay, she’d deserved that.

The male had risked his trusted position among the SAU guards—not to mention his own neck—to help them. It wasn’t his fault his natural arrogance made her want to kick him in the nuts.

Just as she was climbing through the window, she halted, suddenly remembering his earlier words.

“I assume that your claim about there being more shifters was just a way to get rid of the other guard?” she demanded.

“Yep. Until you reach the camp, you’re on your own.”