Chapter 3

Of course, he was there, and of course, he looked fucking edible in those tight blue jeans and equally tight black T-shirt. The way he lounged on the chair like he owned the place had Manu growling. He wanted to wipe the smirk off his face. He wasn't sure how, though. His fist or his lips and that had him growling even more.

Eli arched an eyebrow at him and pointed to the one empty chair. "Manu. Glad you could join us."

"I had to go to Salutem."

"Updates?"

"Nothing yet, but they're tracking. It's only a question of when. We know they'll want to access the data at some point."

Deacon sighed. "I would like just one day to have with my family where this isn't hanging over us."

"You need to come out." Preston sipped his coffee. "Cut them off. Once you're out in the open and the public knows about you and, more importantly, knows what is happening to you, things will change."

"Don't you think we haven't thought about that?" Manu snapped.

Preston grinned. "Noooo. It never once occurred to me that you'd have that conversation. I thought you were all too stupid, and I had to come here and tell you how to not be stupid."

"You sarcastic fucking?—"

"Stop. Now." Eli rubbed his forehead. "Coming out isn't as simple as you would think."

"I know it isn't." Preston sat up and leaned forward. "I can only imagine how complicated it would be, but you're exposed as you are. Easy to pick off, easy to take and kill. You have small villages dotted around that aren't connected. You don't have an effective communication network that links you all together. A village and all its occupants can disappear in a blink of an eye, and you would never know. I've seen it happen."

"Where?" Deac snapped. "When?"

"I was paid to transport some confidential material and other things that they didn't want the authorities to know about. I made a stop at this little village in the middle of nowhere. Nice place. Only about a hundred people. Not even sure if that's a village. Noticed something was off and realized what they were. Kept my mouth shut.

"A few days later, on my way back, the place was burned to the ground, and everyone was gone. If I hadn't had known better, I would have thought the place had been deserted for years, but I did know better. There are hundreds of places like that around the country, little villages here and there but they are left alone until they can take them. They lack the space to take more."

"So they wait until they've finished with the shifters they have, then grab the next." Deac's voice had grown weary by the end of the sentence.

"Perfect set up. That's why I'm telling you to go public. You won't get to all those small places, and those shifters will disappear and no one will miss them, or if they do, something will happen to them too."

"You being there led them straight to those shifters." Manu glared at him and Preston shook his head.

"No way they had the time to do what they did. They knew about that place before I traveled through it. You don't make a place like that disappear with only a couple of days of planning. They had staked it out for a least a month, so they knew everyone, knew their habits, knew their security."

"And somehow you just happened to stop at the same place A. S. intended to hit."

"Yeah, which is fortunate for you, because I have the information on the place, occupants, and current location of said occupants. Those alive, at least. They're all held in one facility. Easier to threaten them to do what they want if they think someone they know will be tortured or killed."

"Where?"

"Bermac. Three hundred miles from here. There is a large shifter community around a hundred miles out from there. Too large to be targeted. Larger than here and a mix of inhabitants but mainly shifter. They have a vampire group there, too, which is probably why they haven't been targeted."

"What's the name of this community?"

"Sandbach."

Elliot furrowed his brow. "I've heard of it. I think it's on our list of places to check out."

"You want to speak to a man called Denison. He's the local sheriff."

"When we captured you"—Eli leaned forward, staring at Preston—"you gave the impression you didn't know about us."

"Never play your full hand."

Eli hissed. "I should pound you into the ground for this."

"You have my tech, my laptop, computer. It's all on there. I didn't know who I was working for, and I never asked questions."

"You saw the labs?—"

"I never had access to the labs or the restricted areas. I wasn't aware of the extent of what they were doing. I put two and two together but didn't actually know. Once I came here and we had our little catch-up, a few things began to make sense. The village that disappeared had to have been them, but I didn't know for sure."

"You just told us they lack space?—"

"Let me make this clear. I knew shit, but I didn't know what I knew. It's easy to analyze and realize what was going on with hindsight. I've had a few days to figure it out. Bermac and Sandbach I know about because of that village I stayed in. I wasn't even sure why I had to know, and once I did, I had no idea how I was going to help them or what the fuck I was mixed up in. The intel I was to grab from here was going to be my last job for them."

"You expect us to believe you?" Manu spat.

"I really don't care if you do or don't. I didn't tell you everything because I don't know you, and I don't know if I can trust you."

Eli grunted. "Thanks."

"Tell us what you know and how long you have known it."

Preston watched Deac for a few seconds, then nodded. "I only knew for certain at the village. Saw a kid shift in front of me. The kid freaked out when he realized I was there, but I told him he would be fine. When I went back and the place had been torched, it made me wonder. Where could they have all gone and why?

"I made it back to the building, which turned out to be a lab, and saw some paperwork on a desk. Saw a couple of names I knew, so I made it a point to access their systems to find out if the boy was there, and he was."

"When was that?" Jim, a shifter with gray hair and a deadly air to him, asked quietly. This man had seen things.

"Around six months ago. Everything I know is on my computer."

"Why didn't you come to me?"

"How the fuck was I supposed to know what you were, Eli? Can you imagine what would happen if I did and you weren't a shifter? You'd think I was tapped." Preston tapped the side of his head. "I didn't say anything because the Eli I worked with didn't seem to be the same Eli standing in front of me. We've been through some shit together, survived things we shouldn't have, and at no time, did I know what you were. Why would I immediately trust you after that?"

"Do you now?" he asked quietly, and Preston paused before answering. Did he trust Eli now he knew the truth?

"Yeah."

"Sandbach. How did you find out about them?"

"The vampires are registered, as are the humans, but I stayed there when I was checking Bermac out. Noticed the same thing with some people there that I did in the village I stayed in. Figured them and the vampires would keep this organization away. Too much trouble if caught."

"You're probably right. Jacques has done a lot in recent years to help ease tensions between humans and vampires," Deac murmured.

"Yeah, and they'd know that, so go for easy targets. I have a list of places they keep shifters." Preston shrugged. "Not sure if it's the full list."

"We have a list too. We can compare. How long have you worked for them?"

Preston tapped his chin with his finger. "Two years, I guess. On and off. I wasn't sure if it was the same company, at first, but I track every job I do, and a pattern emerged."

"You were always good at seeing patterns," Eli murmured. "Anything useful to us?"

"I only moved intel every other month, and I've only had to access information four times in those two years. Six months. My guess would be they select a target, acquire the info, then hit. Six months later, they do it again."

"Six months." Rand stared at the floor. "You hit a place and remove those who will cause a problem, those you can't control. Male shifters more than likely or those with military experience. Leaves the others weak and easier to control."

"They had the Dubois' sister for months." Deac glanced at Rand, who nodded.

"I met a couple of them. I wouldn't want to cross them." Preston had seen them in action and didn't want to have to fight one of them.

"The ones who had their sister found that out as well." Deac sighed heavily. "Some days it gets too much."

"We're here," Eli murmured.

"I know." Deac gave him a close-lipped smile, then stood. "I need to speak to Indy. We should hold a meeting for us all, but I wanted to let the dust settle in Salutem first."

Indy had ended the Council and found out who their traitor was. The repercussions had been long lasting, and only now was Salutem coming to terms with what had happened. During that same time, Indy had mated a demon and that had caused more than a few raised eyebrows.

"It's been a while since we've had a day without something happening." Deac stood and arched his back. "Getting older sucks. Right, let me call Indy and arrange a meeting. Eli, update the schedule to include Preston, and Preston, if I find out you have betrayed us, I'll tear you apart limb from limb, which is something I can do."

Preston saluted Deac, not the least surprised at the warning. "I won't betray you. My dad finally has a decent place to live. Don't wanna risk that."

Deac furrowed his brow. "We'd never do anything to him." Turning to Eli, Deac added, "Get all the info from Preston and his computer and we'll go over it with Salutem and then plan."

Deac left, and Eli stood. "Let's get out of here. Preston, head over to the main security office and help out there with your security set up. You have some impressive security. Both Hunter and Carter have had a few issues getting past it."

Everyone began to leave, and Preston made a point of pushing in front of Manu, grinning when he heard the shifter mutter something under his breath. Outside, he saw Eli stop and stare at the man who they'd seen earlier. The man saw them and stopped a couple of steps away.

"You," he murmured softly.

Eli pushed past him, but the man grabbed his arm. "Let go."

"I'm Alvin."

"I know who you are." Eli shook Alvin's hand off. "Never going to happen."

Alvin shook his head. "What?"

Eli walked away, leaving Alvin staring after him. "He's had a bad morning. Give him a few hours." Preston rocked on his feet.

Alvin didn't glance at him. "He doesn't want me," he whispered.

"He doesn't know you. Give him time?—"

"Shut up, Preston." Manu pushed him out of the way and took Alvin's arm. "He's surprised."

"No." Alvin shook his head. "I always wonder why he avoided me. It's because he doesn't want me as his mate." He nodded slowly and ducked his head. "I get it."

Turning, Alvin slowly walked away. "I thought mating was important," Preston mused.

Next thing he knew, his back was slammed into the wall, and Manu was growling in his face. Now this was going to be fun!