Cole's Redemption (Alpha Pack #5)(63)
“No,” Nick said slowly, eyes narrowed. “Not unless there was something more in it for you. My guess is money, flowing from whoever is keeping you in Armani suits.”
The vampire’s fangs flashed as he laughed. “There now, was that so hard? Care to further guess who I’m working for, and why they have such a stiffy when it comes to seeing you burn?”
“I’ll go out on a limb and say it’s probably the same ass**le in the government who is privy to our movements and keeps feeding them to you.”
“Ding-ding, right again!”
God, this f**ker was crazy.
“So who is the traitor, Darrow?” Nick pressed. “Who’s behind the ambushes on my team? Who needs the Alpha Pack dead and gone? The White House? The president himself?”
“No. The tentacles don’t extend quite as far as the president. But close.” The vampire studied his nemesis thoughtfully for a moment. “Your Alpha Pack was set up to be attacked in Afghanistan when they were still Navy SEALs, turned into wolf shifters, then recruited to become the Alpha Pack before you ever knew they existed, and then betrayed time and again. By whom? And why? You may as well have your curiosity satisfied before I kill you.”
Zan waited, hardly breathing as Darrow circled the room, obviously deciding where to begin. Finally, after six years of wondering, it seemed they were going to learn the truth about the Alpha Pack and the worst of the challenges they’d been dealing with since.
“As you may have surmised by now, the formation of the Alpha Pack was a planned operation all along. The US government had somehow learned about the rogue werewolves in Afghanistan and placed a team there, purposely in harm’s way, to let nature take its course.”
“Then what August Bradford told us is true,” Nick said.
“Ah, the good scientist. He’s quite dead, you know. My boys were called upon to dispatch the man after he escaped your team.”
Zan winced at the news, feeling bad for Daria, Ryon’s mate. Bradford was her uncle, and the news that he was one of those behind the experimenting on shifters had been hard on her.
“I can’t say I’m disappointed by that news,” Nick said dryly.
“I imagine not. Anyway, the circle of those in the know about the Alpha Pack project from its inception was quite small. One member of the White House cabinet, one higher-up in the CIA, and one general.”
“Jarrod Grant?”
If Jarrod, Nick’s best friend, had been involved in the attack in Afghanistan, it would kill Nick. Plain and simple.
“No. He was brought in afterward as the handler of the team and told only what he needed to know.”
“You mean lied to.”
“Of course. Now, things went all right in the first couple of years,” Darrow said. “The Alpha Pack emerged exactly as the little government group had hoped—top-secret military fighters who were shifters with special Psy abilities, battling the paranormal bad guys. Truth, justice, and the American way, blah, blah. Makes me want to sing the f**king national anthem.”
Nick ignored the caustic remark. “So what went wrong?”
Darrow turned, his smile chilling. “The head of the government circle pulling the strings from the start, our very own secretary of state, Owen Matthews, was approached by a certain Unseelie king named Malik.”
Oh f**k. And there’s where it all went to shit.
“And the rest, as they say, is history.” Darrow picked up the object from the table and unfurled it. A rawhide whip. “Matthews and his circle were bad enough for the nefarious methods they used in forming the Alpha Pack. But they never stood a chance against the persuasion of a dark creature like Malik, and soon scientists were hired, labs built for the purpose of experimenting on shifters and humans. Malik wanted to integrate himself into society, posing as a rich human entrepreneur while creating a race of super-soldier shifters with Psy abilities to be his own personal army. He wanted to rule the world.”
“But we stopped him,” Nick finished. “Destroyed the labs and came too close to the truth. And now Matthews is trying to sweep all of his shit under the rug—including the Alpha Pack.”
“Exactly. He approached me to accomplish just that, and in return he set up a team of scientists in Washington to create special drugs for paranormals. They produce several types that target different areas, most important, to make already aggressive vampires turn rogue and to allow them to walk in the daylight.”
“Matthews wanted one last shot at creating a fighting force he could control.” Nick laughed grimly. “What an idiot. My Pack consists of good men, heroic men, who’d do anything for their country and fellow man. They’d battle any creature anywhere to save even you, Darrow, but Matthews is so short-sighted he’d see them destroyed to save face.”
“That’s about right.”
“What’s he paying you? I have contacts that can see the figure doubled if you help us bring him down.”
Darrow looked shocked for a moment, then shook his head. “It’s not all about the money. I have power now.”
“Not for long. He’ll see you all dead as well to save himself, and you’re a fool if you don’t realize it.”
The vampire’s gaze hardened. “And this is where our conversation ends, Westfall. I’m finally a part of something big, and I won’t allow you or anyone else to stand in my way. You’re done.”