Chapter 7

Lachlan

“Control the things you can control,” I told myself in the mirror while brushing my teeth. “You’ve got this. Let the rest go and have faith in those you care about. Tilly is strong, stubborn, and a fighter. She will come back to you. To think anything else is doing a disservice to you and to her. She’s got this and you’re strong enough to handle this distance and time apart. Focus on the things you can do instead of the things you wish you could do.”

Satisfied with my morning pep talk, I walked over to the bed and picked up Taylor’s phone, knowing exactly what I needed to do first.

I knew his name would be programmed in, but it took me a while to find it. She had creative names for just about everyone.

Clicking on ‘Pretty Nerd Boy’ I had a good feeling this was exactly the call I needed to make to start my day off right.

“Hey Tay. What’s up?”

“Elliot, it’s Lachlan. I need a favor.”

“For you, anything. What’s up? But why are you calling from Taylor’s phone?”

“Someone’s broken into my secure cell. Archie confirmed it. It’s putting everyone I care about at risk. So I’m using hers until he sends a replacement. A part of me is a little worried though because I have no idea how or when mine was hacked.”

“Say no more, my friend. We all heard about what happened with your mate. I’m so sorry, man. I’m not sure if taken alive is better or worse than what we’ve been experiencing out here in the field. I tell you, once upon a time all I wanted to do was field work, but I also love my toys and New Mexico is looking pretty sweet right now. It’s awful.”

“Fill me in on what you’re really seeing out there. We’ve heard you’ve found a few Tribes just missing.”

“I wish. That was Charlie team. It’s like they vanished in thin air. No one can figure out what happened. And the one we stumbled into yesterday was even more disturbing. They were all slaughtered. Some of my guys stayed back to assist with clean. Patrick called in a whole crew. What the hell does it say about me that I couldn’t stomach sticking around? I’m supposed to be the one in charge and leading these guys. Echo would probably be better off without me.”

“We talked about this in our session, remember? That’s just fear talking. You can’t listen to your inner imposter. I’d be willing to bet few people could stomach such a thing.”

I couldn’t bring myself to ask him which of the Tribes we were talking about. I couldn’t handle it if it was my family Tribe or maybe even worse if it was Tilly’s. Something like that would kill her.

I knew what she’d been willing to sacrifice for them. The guilt of knowing she wasn’t around when something horrific like this occurred would be too much for a person like that. And I couldn’t stand to think of her carrying the weight of that sort of grief and pain.

“I sure hope you’re right,” Elliot said, interrupting my thoughts. “Hold on.”

I hated those two little words. Hold on to what? Hope? I didn’t need hope, I needed to take action. Hold on and wait? I was sick of waiting. Tilly didn’t have time to wait. If the Collectors were expediting things and taking out entire Tribes, then her time was limited. I had work to do to ensure she got back to me safe and sound.

“Okay, I have an extra secured phone heading your way. Looks like yours was one of the older models. You really need to hit me up at least once a year for the latest and greatest.”

“It takes me a year or more just to settle into a new phone,” I grumbled.

“It’s important, Lachie. No more than a year. Put it on your calendar.”

I groaned. “Fine.”

“I had them put extra security on this one. I’d almost stake my firstborn child on the security of this thing.”

“You don’t have a child.”

“Well not yet, but probably one day.”

I chuckled. “Hey, they did warn you guys about the fire, right?”

“What fire?”

“Patrick called in yesterday with an update. Ravenden was attacked and they are using fires with some sort of paralytic agent that’s incapacitating everyone. Then they just came in with trucks and loaded up the bodies to remove.”

“Dead or alive?” he asked, solemnly.

“Alive.”

“Well, that’s a relief. We have a morning report with Patrick in an hour. I’m sure he’ll be filling us all in on that. Completely random thought, but do we know if your hacked phone was sending out signals from within that penthouse?”

“It was. I was here when Archie ran some tests on it while I was on a call,” I confirmed.

“Damn. So it wasn’t a bug or tracker, it had to be something installed on your phone.”

“I don’t even know how that’s possible. I’m always careful with it.”

“Taylor is testing my new distorter. If it was a bug then it should have shut it down and not allowed the signal to get out.”

“Maybe it’s not working as well as you hoped.”

“What the hell? I may struggle with imposter syndrome when it comes to leading my team and dealing with people, but never when it comes to my inventions and toys. I’m going to have to think on this one. Any chance I can have the phone?”

“No. I pulverized it and sent it out with the trash.”

“Dammit, Lachlan. I could have gotten valuable information off of that thing. Archie didn’t tell you to send it back in?”

“No. He said get rid of it, so I did.”

He huffed in frustration. “I’m going to have to have a talk with him about that. But no worries, the phone I have coming your way is virtually impenetrable. The moles couldn’t hack it and even my equipment finds it virtually undetectable. I’ve been holding it for a rainy day and this sounds like the perfect storm. Plus, it masks your location, so even if someone does try to track you, your location will always be at least fifty miles off and it’s on a random loop for direction. Cool, right?”

“Are you aware that Taylor has you listed in her phone as ‘Pretty Nerd Boy’?”

He laughed. “Well, it’s accurate, right? I am a certified nerd and I am pretty. Maybe not so much as boy though. Can you change it to ‘Pretty Sexy Nerd Man’ instead?”

“I am not doing that.”

“Oh, come on, Lachlan. I’ll owe you for it.”

“What did you just say?”

“I’ll owe you.”

“I gotta go. Thanks for everything Elliot.”

“What did I say?”

I didn’t answer him. Instead, I disconnected the call as my brain started whirling into action.

My list had included everyone I had worked with and what they did. But I hadn’t fully considered calling in favors owed. That certainly broadened my pool of help.

I grinned and this time, I started a project board for my own mission. A mission to find my mate.

First, I had to think this through like a mission.

What did we already know about the situation?

The Collector’s like witches. So why the sudden interest in shifters? Change in the norm. The staging facilities before and auction drastically changed. Why? Two mass hits on Tribes. One was sedated and presumed to be taken alive. The other horrifically slaughtered. What was the difference between these Tribes? Where did they take the Tribe that disappeared? Why was I targeted and how did they get ahold of my phone?

This was just a start to the questions, but some pretty big ones I needed answers to if I was going to find Tilly.

Without asking permission, I dressed the part of the aristocratic Logan Fritzbank III and left the penthouse. It was something I should have done after ensuring Chelle was safe. For some reason I expected security guards to be stationed outside my room, but there was no one there to stop me.

I knew leaving the hotel without telling anyone was stupid. Maybe I had a bit of a death wish at the moment. Well, not really death, but I’d be okay with captivity if it meant getting back to Tilly.

With careful facade and a smile on my face, I walked over to the auction warehouse. I had no idea how many days it had actually been, or if they were even still there, but I had to try.

The man at the front gate recognized me and grinned.

“He’s back. Once you buy your first it’s hard to stop. I had a suspicion you’d be back. But I can’t believe you waited so long. There are slim pickings but great deals to be had now.”

It clicked all at once. This was Taylor’s friend that I’d been introduced to, or rather Tayla’s. I couldn’t get cocky even when running off half-cocked.

“Bartholomew, right? Tayla introduced us.”

“Very good. And you are Logan.”

“That’s me.”

“He’s already been cleared, gentleman,” he told the guards at the gate. “Pay them no mind. We had a little incident at the last auction which required tightened security and additional measures in screening this time. Pity. They’ve been running tests on the assets to ensure all of our safety, but it means we couldn’t get in for early viewing this time. I like to scope out the merchandise prior to the auction and for the right price I always could, but not here. They are keeping things tight and by the books this time.”

I studied him for a minute. There was a gleam of mischief in his eyes.

“But you know where they’ve been keeping them. Don’t you?”

“I do. Of course I do. I make it a point to know such things. It’s all a bit unsettling really. I’m not a fan of change, Logan. And I don’t appreciate the merchandise arriving with holes.”

“Holes?”

“Clearly they’ve all been tested or drugged. I have yet to decipher which.”

He was speaking in hushed tones as we walked around. I wasn’t sure if I was horrified or relieved to see so many of the cages empty now.

“Have any new products arrived?” I asked.

“No. There was absolutely no restock this time. What arrived on day 1 was all they had. Though I’ve heard of a potential black market in the area. Nasty stuff. I don’t make a habit of it, but if you’d be interested, I could make some arrangements.”

The coy look he gave me told me he more than dabbled in the black market of witch trade. It was disgusting, but he might just turn out to be an unorthodox ally. It was exactly what I needed.

We walked the entire complex and then he discreetly escorted me out the back door to another warehouse not even a hundred yards away.

I noticed the mounted cameras and high level security surrounding the place, but my new friend appeared oblivious as he walked over to the back door and banged twice.

Nothing happened.

He looked at his watch and waited precisely two minutes and then repeated it.

This time the door slid open and a man with shifty eyes welcomed us.

“Boss is out for a meeting so let’s make this quick. Who’s this?”

“Never mind you that. He’s with me. That’s all you need to know.”

“Then you’re vouching for him?”

“I am.”

Bartholomew slipped him a wad of hundred dollar bills and we followed the guy inside. He looked around to ensure we weren’t followed or being watched before closing the door behind us.

“I’ve got a whole shipment about to be disposed of so you gotta act quick.”

“There’s that much damaged merchandise?”

“I don’t ask no questions, sir. I just keep my head down and do my damn job. But yeah, it’s excessive. They built a massive crematorium for easy disposal. This batch has already been processed out and determined to be of subpar quality. Either that or the boss is controlling the market this way. Regardless, you have about twenty minutes to make your picks before my break ends and I’m forced to get back to it.”

Nothing prepared me for what we walked in to. There were piles of bodies stacked taller than two of me.

“What the hell is this?” I asked.

“Damaged goods is what I’ve been told.”

“These have already been processed out. Follow me.”

He led us out of the large docking area of dead bodies about to go into the large crematory in the corner of the room and into a room lined with cages filled with people—my people.

“I think I’m going to be sick,” I warned them.

“Relax. It’s all shocking at first. The trick is not to think of them as people. Give them humanity and it all becomes quite uncivilized.”