In the periphery, the boy stood beside a Gehenna Masonry truck.
Alec smiled. “Good luck with that.”
The Alpha’s eyes glowed golden in the moonlight. He was tall and sinewy, handsome in a way that lured too many mortal women astray. He was dark and intense. Magnetic, some said. And wily enough to avoid Jehovah’s wrath. At least so far. “It can’t be a coincidence that you’re here.”
“You’re the one outside of your territory.”
Charles settled more firmly on his feet, showing his determination to block the exit as long as necessary. Since the padlock was on the exterior of the gate, Alec wouldn’t be able to access it without reaching through the bars, a move that would put him at an unacceptable disadvantage.
“Point me in the right direction,” Charles said, “and I’ll step aside.”
“There’s no help for your rogue wolf. Go home.”
“I can’t let you kill him.”
“That’s not your decision to make.”
“He’s young, and he’s my son.” Charles’s knuckles whitened. “His mother was a witch. Her parents believe I’m denying him his magical birthright. They’ve turned him against me.”
“I don’t give a shit.”
“Because he’s a half-breed,” the Alpha continued, “he can’t control his wolf, so he’s rejected it and fled.”
Alec’s arms crossed. “You’re breaking my heart.”
“Let me handle this within the pack.”
“It’s too late for that.” The evening breeze blew through the bars, ruffling through Alec’s hair and filling his nostrils with the stench of Infernal. “Among other things, a Mark has been taken.”
“Whatever Timothy has done, it’s been at the will of his grandparents. Let me give them to you in return for my son.”
“I want my Mark,” Alec bit out, agonizingly conscious of how much time had passed since Eve had been taken.
“I understand. I want to help you.”
“Then get out of the way.”
The Alpha’s grip loosened. “Do we have a deal?”
Alec inhaled sharply. “Sure.”
Eve was right. The mark did burn with a lie.
CHAPTER 20
It was a hallway, and at the end there was a faint, almost imperceptible glow.
Eve raced toward it, suddenly aware of just how much swinging arms helped a person to run. With her wrists bound in front of her, she felt off-balance and front-heavy.
The screeching cries of the animals ceased abruptly with the closing of the door Eve had fled through, telling her the horror room was soundproofed in some way. The thudding footfalls of her pursuer, however, were loud and clear. And gaining on her.
Flanking either side of the hallway were other doors, only a few, but they were all closed. There was no wayward moonlight to give her bearings. There was no artificial illumination and no windows to tell her where she was. Only the glow at the end of the tunnel that hinted at a window.
The hallway emptied into another. She turned the corner and found herself dodging sofas and end tables. Moonlight flooded the space through picture windows. She was on the ground floor. If she’d been a religious person, she might have sent up a prayer of thanks. As it was, she thought it was about time she’d been given a freakin’ break.
She saw the double-door exit that led to the outside.
Almost there . . .
“Stupid slut!” the boy grunted, skidding into the wall as he rounded the corner behind her.
Eve sensed a tackle coming and leaped the last yard to the door. The mark burned with a rush of power, giving her the strength required to shatter the lock and leap out into the night.
Her foot hit the ground wrong and she stumbled . . .
. . . directly into the chest of an immovable masculine form.
Fishtailing around the corner of Falcon Circle, Alec stood on the brakes and squealed to a halt before the brown house at the end of the street. It was the only unlit home on the cul de sac; a dark hole in a suburban tapestry of welcoming lights. Behind him, a dark blue Suburban filled with Sara’s guards and a black Porsche driven by Charles followed suit. Bringing up the rear was a van of wolves. The multitude of vehicles clogged the driveway and spilled out to the middle of the street.
Alec hit the pavement running, the driver’s-side door of the Focus left hanging open.
This sort of melee was not the way things were done. Sting operations, raids, ambushes . . . Aside from being strongly discouraged because of their inevitable attention-grabbing value, they weren’t in Alec’s repertoire. He preferred the quiet, clean kill.
The soles of his boots skid around the corner of the