“Satellites tracked your asses,” he growled at the men, irritation lacing his voice. “I told you to watch your f**king asses.”
The commander snorted at the information. “Yeah, we knew that. Let them go on guard for a while, it will make them more vulnerable when we move in.”
Thane could be a bastard, and he was one of the few Breeds that Dog would hate to go up against. He was also one of the few Breeds he would trust his life with. The three Coyotes that followed Thane were of the same ilk, though their personalities varied. All four were hard, cold, almost dead inside though. And nothing or no one mattered more than preserving the Breed communities.
No matter the cost to themselves.
Dog eyed the other Breed for long moments as Loki, Mutt and Mongrel shifted behind him.
Thane was as tall as he was, at six four, powerfully muscular and without fear, he was a deadly enemy. His coloring was different from most Breeds. Rather than the blond to light brown hair, his was pitch black, his eyes blue, the Irish heritage from his mother clearly apparent.
“You still carrying a grudge?” Dog asked, knowing Thane hadn’t been happy at the loss of one of his men in an operation against a hidden start-up lab in the Middle East that had been holding abducted Breeds.
“The bastard was a death wish walking,” Thane admitted. “There’s no grudge to hold.”
Nodding, Dog moved to the gas fire ring and poured a cup of coffee into one of the extra metal mugs sitting next to it.
“We need to move soon,” Dog told them. “The Sinclair girl’s arrived, and only God knows what she might sense or reveal. Stay out of sight of those f**king satellites so we can at least blame it on the bastards in the North. That way Jonas won’t send a team your way when you make your move.”
“We know what we’re doing,” Thane stated.
“Maybe I’m just reminding you,” Dog mocked. “You have a problem with that?”
He wasn’t about to treat the Breed commander any differently than he would any other, even if he did often respect him more.
Thane quirked his lips in hard amusement.
“Don’t have a problem with that, Dog,” he drawled. “I was just reminding you as well.”
Like he needed reminders of any sort.
“Move into position tomorrow,” he told them, his gaze moving over each man. “Wait for my signal.”
“You think you can maneuver them that easy?” Thane asked as the others watched curiously.
“I can maneuver anything or anyone,” Dog informed him confidently.
He knew his limits, but his abilities to be just as calculating and merciless as Jonas Wyatt were in doubt. “The four of you just make sure you’re in place. I don’t want to risk our agenda and I sure as hell don’t want to risk our plans here. There’s too much riding on it.”
“What do you have riding on it? Maybe it’s time you let us know what the hell is going on here, Dog,” one of the younger Coyotes in Thane’s group sneered mockingly. Dog didn’t have time to challenge him, but he couldn’t let it go either. In a dominant, powerful move, Thane was suddenly on his feet and throwing the younger Breed against the rock wall of the cave as the knife he carried at his thigh was pressing into the other Breed’s jugular. “Need to know,” Thane rasped, his scarred lips pulling back into a demonic snarl as a growl rumbled in his chest. “If you needed to know, then I would have told you.” There was no fear in the other Breed’s eyes, only the knowledge that he had pushed too far.
“There are boundaries, boy,” Thane told him, his voice brutal as he glared into the younger Breed’s eyes. “Step over the line again, and you won’t have another chance.”
“Understood.” The other Breed didn’t lower his gaze, he didn’t look away. He didn’t show submission; what he showed, though, was agreement. That was all Thane needed.
Stepping back, he released the other Breed and moved back to the position he had taken before the low fire and lifted his coffee cup to sip at it as though nothing had happened.
“Then we’re all on the same page here?” Dog looked around at each man, their nods assuring him everything and everyone was in place and knew their places.
Finishing his coffee, he set the cup back in place before sauntering to the opening of the overhang.
“Be in place on time or you lose half of your commission,” he informed them all without turning back. “And stay out of sight of those f**king satellites.”
“Dog.”
It was Thane who had him pausing and glancing back.
“What are you going to do when Jonas learns the game you’re playing here?”