Wild Hunt - Kali Argent Page 0,29
he reeked of anxiety.
“They’re ready to talk to me, aren’t they?”
“They just need some information. You don’t have to talk about anything you don’t want to, but the more you can give us, the better it’s going to be for everyone.”
She also loved the fact that he never lied to her, even when the truth wasn’t something she wanted to hear. “I’ll try, but I really don’t know how much help I can be. I spent most of my time in a cage.”
Moving his arms to her shoulders, he applied gentle pressure to encourage her to turn until she faced him. “You were there for two years. I know it’s not easy to talk about, but I’m willing to bet you know more than you think you do.”
Well, he was right about one thing. She had no desire to relive the time she’d spent in the Hunter camp. Hell, she hadn’t even told Cade all the gory details yet. She’d never be able to forget the things she’d seen, nor the things that had been done to her. Hiding while the same kind of hell happened to others, however, made her no better than the monsters who had held her captive.
“Will it help? If I tell you guys everything—” She gave him a meaningful look. “—and I mean, everything, will it help you take them down?”
Cade stroked his hand down her braid, then cupped the back of her neck to pull her close. “I can’t promise that it will, but I know it can’t hurt. Right now, we don’t know anything. Someone is going to have to run recon, but there’s only so much we can learn from a distance.”
It wasn’t a guarantee, but there was a chance. “I’ll do it.”
He sighed and kissed the top of her head. “I had a feeling you’d say that. Everyone’s waiting in the conference room.”
And when he said everyone, he meant everyone. Mackenna had expected Luca and Lynk, maybe Rhys and Thea. What she hadn’t expected was for at least a dozen heads to snap in her direction when she entered the room.
Luca sat at one end of the long conference table, Lynk at the other, and every seat in between had been filled. Others had taken up positions along the wall, or they’d squeezed in between chairs to pour over the map spread out on the table.
There were even a couple of faces she didn’t recognize.
Cade must have sensed her apprehension, because he stepped in front of her, effectively shielding her from the curious gazes. “Mack, this is Seth Barnes.”
He motioned to a male with the palest complexion she’d ever seen on a living person. His icy blue eyes tracked her across the room, and he dipped his head. Mackenna nodded back at the human.
“And Orin Gaines.”
His hand swung to the right, indicating a black male the size of a freaking mountain with copper-colored eyes so warm and kind she couldn’t help but smile at him. Again, she nodded.
“I think you know the rest of these assholes, so let’s get started.”
Her mate, ladies and gentlemen, the diplomat.
Even Deke was in attendance. He looked as if he hadn’t slept in years, and the simple act of sitting up straight appeared to be taxing, but at least he had a little color back in his cheeks.
She’d learned from Roux that he’d broken three ribs in his fight with the ghost walkers. Not a significant injury in and of itself, but one of the fractures had punctured his left lung and caused other internal bleeding. While he’d mostly healed over the past couple of days, it would be a while longer before he was back to business as usual.
“Good timing,” Luca said, not looking up as he motioned for them to join him at the table. “Based on where Cade and the others found you on the highway, we think we’ve narrowed down where the Hunter camp might be.” He jabbed his index finger at the map of Colorado. “Take a look.”
Mackenna inched closer, choosing to squeeze between Roux and Deke to get near enough to the table. Abby sat on the other side of Roux, and although Mackenna normally felt more comfortable with females, Abby gave her the damn creeps.
Maybe that wasn’t fair. The way she’d heard it, the tiny blonde had been through the gauntlet in recent months. Mackenna knew better than anyone that people didn’t just walk away from trauma without being affected in some way. Still, there was something about the