32. Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty

T he moment his boys disappeared from his mind was the worst moment of Izzy’s life. He growled and shifted partially. His hands turned into his dragon’s, growing claws. He tried to talk to them through the link. Even going so far as threatening them with a punishment if they didn’t answer him, but they never did.

Daruss stood when he did. Izzy’s sudden change in behavior put him on alert. “What is it?”

Jude and Raylee stopped making out long enough to meet Daruss’s gaze. “Stay here.”

Raylee slid off Jude’s lap and sat beside him. “What’s wrong?”

Instead of answering, Izzy headed for the hall. As soon as he got there, a human, came from the bathroom area. He held his nose and swayed on his feet as if he were drunk. Izzy caught him before he fell over.

“Did you drink too much?” Izzy asked the boy and then sniffed him. He didn’t smell like alcohol.

The guy shook his head. “I’m drinking soda. Nothing else.”

“Smells weird. Like chemicals,” Daruss whispered. He waved his hand in a circle. It was their sign to shut the club down. “Buddy up when leaving. I want guards posted outside.”

Izzy handed the boy off to Daruss who took him over to the couch with Jude and Raylee. Raylee was a nurse and could assess him. Maybe they could figure out what the hell was wrong.

Daruss held his phone. “I’ll have Gavin bring Easton here. He might be able to help find out what the smell is.”

“You think that’s what made that boy ill?” Izzy held his shirt over his nose as he headed down the hallway.

“What else could it be?” Daruss was right. The club had never smelled like that in the history of them owning the building.

That had to be what was affecting his boys too. Maybe they were so dizzy they couldn’t get out of the bathroom. Unconscious? Whatever it was, he had to get to them.

When he made it to the bathroom he expected to find them inside, maybe passed out but they weren’t there. No one was inside.

His heartbeat increased and his chest tightened. It had been a long time since he’d lost control, but he was about to. He could feel his dragon taking over. Instead of pushing down his instincts, he let them take over. He fought to stay in his human form, but he let his dragon sniff the air for his mates. It wasn’t easy because the smell of rotten eggs was overpowering.

“We need to find out where the smell is coming from.” Daruss went into the storage room and Izzy headed down the hall toward the back door.

They always kept the door locked so it being ajar was beyond abnormal. He followed his boys’ scents outside and across the lot. Past the bikes to where Cain and the other guy had parked.

Skippy and Landry joined him in the parking lot.

“You traced them out here?” Skippy asked.

“They disappeared a few minutes ago.” Izzy tapped his head. “They aren’t conscious. But they’re alive. Cain Nicholson was parked here.”

“Cain’s the littler one with dark hair, right? Not the one you attacked.” Skippy asked.

“How did they get Todd and Ulises out of the club in just seconds?” Landry asked.

“Drugged them.” Izzy pulled his vest and shirt over his head and handed them to Skippy. “I need someone to get all the information about Cain as you can. And check that dating app for the other guy. Ulises seemed to recognize him. That’s the only place he would have met him.”

“Got it.” Skippy took the rest of Izzy’s clothes and Landry’s when he stripped too.

They shifted and took to the sky. Izzy wanted an aerial view of the area. Maybe he’d see Cain’s truck.

If Cain was around, he didn’t go toward town. Izzy would have seen him. The road leading into Wingspan was clear. The landscape of open fields made it possible to see for miles.

He must have gone in the opposite direction.

He shrieked, letting Landry know he was heading back.

He needed a plan, which including seeking help.

As soon as Izzy entered the club Skippy threw his clothes at him.

Landry followed. Skippy stood in front of Landry with his back turned to shield him while he dressed. Not that anyone would stare but Landry had issues with being naked in front of people. At least when there was a crowd. For a shifter it was odd but for Landry it came with the trauma of his past.

“Who the fuck is Cain and that other dude working for?” Someone bankrolled the little shit.

Easton held up his hand. “First things first. The smell comes from hydrogen sulfide. It is very toxic and can kill people. We found a bottle of it in the storage room. We put it outside. And then called the Wingspan sheriff. He’s on his way. But in the meantime, Raylee and I will come around and take everyone’s vitals.”

Daruss addressed Izzy. “Are they alive?”

Izzy nodded. “Unconscious.”

“In smaller doses it’s less…lethal. Dizziness leads to unconsciousness, basically.” Easton had a blood pressure cuff around Ronin’s arm.

“So who the hell is Cain Nicholson?”

Jude who hadn’t gotten dressed yet, sat on the couch with a laptop on his legs. “Do you remember taking out a trafficking ring? The Gianelli family. About two months ago.”

“The Grand River job?”

Jude turned the computer around and there was a mugshot of Cain. He wore a suit and his dark hair was slicked back as if he had used grease on it.

“His real name is Thaddeus Nickols and he’s a real asshole. Rape, murder, hits for the mob family. You name it, he’s done it.”

Daruss’s jaw muscles jumped. “So taking Izzy’s boys was revenge for shutting down their operation.”

“Who’s the other guy he was with?”

“His name is Roy Latronica. He’s the head guy of the Gianelli crime family. As of four months ago. We made him look bad, which will probably get him killed if he doesn’t fix it.” Jonik explained. He tightened his hold on Wren, his mate. It was the only outward sign he was affected by what had happened.

Nash spoke up. “Izzy’s boys were in the wrong place at the wrong time. I mean, how could Cain, or Thaddeus what the fuck ever, and Latronica know they’d go to the bathroom when they did. They probably wanted as many of us as possible. Maybe they even targeted the people we’ve saved like Ulises.”

“The fuckers probably wanted to kill us after they rendered us unconscious.”

Gavin spoke up. “We found another bottle of that shit. But it was unopened.”

“So they wanted to put just enough of that stuff into the building to grab all the unconscious people they could sell into sex slavery and kill the rest of us.” Daruss growled then partially shifted. “They planned this thing out. And I left us vulnerable by charging strangers at the door.”

“They don’t know we’re shifters,” Izzy said. It gave them leverage. The element of surprise always did. “They thought the chemicals would affect us like it did humans.”

Seryn and Mitchell came into the club. They’d left the front door open to air out the building. The back door was open as well. Seryn’s eyebrows drew together as he eyed the door. It wasn’t usual for it to be unlocked. As soon as they stepped inside, Mitchell cursed and held his nose.

But Seryn walked into the middle of the room. He closed his eyes and said something in a different language. A yellow cloud formed around him and then he seemed to push the cloud out of the door.

When he opened his eyes again, he smiled and walked to Mitchell. He never said a word to anyone. It was Mitchell who said, “It’s safe now. The poison is outside.”

“Thank you, Seryn,” Daruss said.

Seryn nodded. “We need to find out where Ulises and Todd are.”

“We’re working on it,” Daruss explained.

“Whoever took them will pay.” Seryn never lost his smile.

“The Gianelli crime family.”

“Let me make a few calls. I’ll find out where they are.” Seryn pulled Mitchell along as he walked into the back room where Landry tattooed the club members.

Izzy began pacing. So far, they were talking and not taking action. It made him restless. He’d lose it soon. He could feel the rage building inside him. “I should have never let them out of my sight. I knew those fuckers were tailing Ulises.”

By pointing Ulises out to Cain, he had put him on Cain’s radar.

“It’s not your fault. Put the blame where it’s supposed to be so you can focus on save them and make those fuckers pay.” Daruss kissed Jude’s forehead. Jude hadn’t stopped searching the internet. “Take a break and get dressed, boy.”

Jude nodded and shut the computer. He met Izzy’s gaze with an empathetic one of his own.

Izzy nodded to him in thanks, but he couldn’t muster more than that.

If something happens to Todd and Ulises, he wouldn’t be able to make it out of the grief. I love you. I’m coming to get you.

His boys didn’t answer.