Ruler (Wolves of Royal Paynes #2) - Kiki Burrelli Page 0,67

feet.

"To where?" His voice came out high and reedy.

"You're coming with me to finish the interrogation. You're right, Storri. You need to know this. I need to let you know this. My job is to shield you, not shelter you."

I held his hand down the stairs, where we ran into Jagger. "Knox sent me to get you. He wants this finished." Jagger's eyes remained on Storri as he spoke. "You aren't bringing him down there, are you?"

"I am. This is about Storri. He deserves to know."

"Faust—"

"We don't have time to argue," I growled, keeping Storri's hand in mine. My alpha didn't appreciate Jagger stepping on his toes. "We need to gag her."

"Gag her?" Jagger kept pace behind us. "We want her to talk, Faust. Gagging her would be the opposite of helpful."

"She's going to kill herself." I pushed open the door into the basement wondering how she hadn't already. With the way she'd been enthusiastically climbing to the edge of that cliff, it was only a matter of time. She might not have information to stop what was going on, but we would be the ones to decide that.

Knox, Diesel, and Huntley watched our entrance, each silently raising their eyebrows at Storri.

"What's he doing here?" Athena tried to sound hard, but her fear gave her away.

"You wanted him so badly a few hours ago," Knox snapped.

"Back when he was clueless. You have no idea what that man is. What he can do."

"What can I do?" Storri asked sharply. "What do you mean? What can I do?"

"Why is he here?" Diesel snarled.

Everyone spoke at once, creating a chaotic wave of sound. "Gag her," I shouted over the roar.

Athena reacted immediately, shaking her head back and forth so violently her hair left red welts against her cheeks. "No! Don't!" she screamed as Knox moved into position behind her. "They'll find me anyway. They'll know I talked!"

The chair tottered on its legs, wrenching to one side and then the other as the woman fought to break free.

Knox had the strip of leather nearly around her head when the chair slammed to the side. He dropped down, attempting to gag her where she'd fallen.

"They're gonna get you, kid," she screamed.

Storri trembled under my arm. "Shut her up, Knox," I growled.

"There won't be anything left of you. Any of you." She took a deep breath just before Knox got the leather around her mouth.

He wasn't fast enough to stop one more word from escaping her lips.

"Portal."

A loud boom blasted from the woman, throwing us backward. I caught Storri, bracing him against my chest while my back took the hit. The space was so dark, I couldn't see him despite him being right in front of my face. His scent told me he was still there, as did the feel of him in my arms. I pulled my shirt off, pressing it against Storri's mouth. "Try not to breathe, kitten. Shuffle with me to the door."

"Did you know that was going to happen?" Knox asked.

I opened the door, letting out a burst of ash and dust.

"I hoped we could stop it." I swung the door back and forth, wafting the air out and letting the ash disperse. Already, the ceiling light shone, weakly, but it was there. "Is there anything left?"

"Nothing," came Knox's growl. "She's gone. Just like Jazz's father."

"Magic contract," Storri whispered.

"Did she say anything after I left?" Enough ash had cleared that I could make out the rest of my team.

"Nothing we didn't already assume," Diesel grumbled.

"Did she say how she knew so much about me? During our calls, she knew things that…things that…happened after my mom had died. She'd asked me about the university. About whether I'd want to attend again and how much closer the campus was to her home. Why didn't I think of that? My mother had no idea. Making plans for the future in front of her made me sad, so I never told her. The only way that woman could've known…"

Storri didn't need to finish his sentence, which was for the best because he'd started trembling so hard his teeth clanged together. The others glared at me, wondering why I'd allowed Storri down here to witness this.

He didn't want to be coddled, not really.

"Do you think Portal has Grouse?" Diesel asked.

Storri jerked upright. His shaking stopped in the face of Diesel's question. He licked his lips and stood a little straighter. "Yes. I think that."

Chapter Thirteen

Storri

"What will they do with her? It. The remains?" I didn't mean to