"No, sir. But he has Adam under his control now, doesn't he? Between finding the right combination of drugs and Adam's daughter, he could have Adam under his control all the time."
David tilted his head, then shook it. "It wouldn't work. Not for long. An Alpha would kill himself fighting before he'd submit for very long. He'd defeat the drugs or die."
I wasn't so certain. I don't think anyone knew exactly how the drug cocktails would work-not even Gerry, who had been experimenting with new wolves and not powerful ones like Adam.
"It doesn't matter what we think. Could Gerry believe they would work on Adam?" asked John-Julian.
For some reason, they looked at me, but all I could do was shrug. "I don't know Gerry. He didn't spend much time with the pack, and he traveled a lot with his job." I hesitated. "Bran wouldn't put a stupid person in a position like that."
David nodded. "I never thought Gerry was stupid before this. But that bloodbath has had me rethinking my opinions."
"Look," I said. "I'd love to discuss Gerry, but why don't you tell me what you are doing here and what you want from me first."
"I still don't like what Bran's doing," David rumbled. "Not at all. But I like what Gerry is doing even less."
"Gerry asked us to deliver the boy's body to your doorstep," explained John-Julian. "He said that you needed a warning to stay out of wolf business. We met him back at the house he was using for headquarters and that was when we found out that he'd kidnapped Adam's daughter and left three of his wolves to die."
"You don't leave your men behind," said Connor.
"You don't attack the innocents," John-Julian told me. It sounded like a creed.
David gave me a half smile. "And, though I think Bran needs to be brought up short, only a fool would think he could get Adam to move a step he doesn't choose to. I'd leave Gerry to learn his lesson, but our honor is at stake. We don't hurt the innocents-so we're getting Adam and his daughter away tonight."
"They have Adam?" It wasn't really a surprise. What else could have kept the pack away from phones all day? It was even a relief to know because there had been a dozen other, worse things that had occurred to me.
What did come as a surprise was the door opening, though I hadn't sensed anyone on my front porch. Samuel, back in his human shape, let himself into my house. He was wearing only jeans. Even his feet were bare, and he limped a little as he came to me. "They have Adam," he confirmed.
I might not have heard him or smelled him, but David didn't look surprised. He'd made a subtle gesture that kept his men where they were-though I could see they were tense and ready to act.
"David Christiansen, meet Dr. Samuel Cornick," I said. "Samuel, this is David, Adam's old army buddy. He's here to get Adam and Jesse out."
"So I heard," Samuel said, sitting down on the couch next to my feet.
"What happened to you?" I asked.
"We got to the address we had for the other wolves and found a few signs, but nothing definite. We wandered around quite a while before Darryl realized the reason Adam wasn't recalling us from the hunt was because he was gone, along with his car. Someone saw him with a cell phone-which he didn't have when we left Warren's house. Several wolves noticed the car drive away, but no one thought to question Adam."
"Wait a minute," I said, because I was getting a very bad feeling. "Wait a minute. The vampires would have checked out the address-Bran says there's nothing more paranoid than a vampire. They'd have made certain there were wolves where they were supposed to be, don't you think? Even just to make certain that it was wolves who'd come. But when half our pack shows up, they can't find enough scent to track the others?" I looked at David. "And when Mac's body was left on my porch, I couldn't scent anyone else who shouldn't have been there-I didn't smell you." I hunched my shoulders. "I should have realized it then, shouldn't I? It's not just Gerry, is it?" I saw Samuel stiffen and remembered he hadn't known. "Gerry Wallace is working with our witch."
There were a lot of witches who could sterilize a body so that not even the keenest nose,