A Council of Betrayal (26 page)

“While I realize any bullets will kill me,
silver bullets will kill you, too. Secondly, while I do not like
that she slept with Logan, I am capable of putting that aside to
make rational decisions.” Red hot rage burned in my chest.

The color drained from Mark’s face. He
rebounded quickly, though. “We could be bugged.”

“Possibly,” I agreed, “but the pot farmers
were well prepared. I suppose someone could have gotten them silver
while we hiked in. The simplest way to cross Sage off the list is
to visit her tomorrow.”

Mark grunted, “She’s in Chicago. She has a
penthouse downtown.”

I raised an eyebrow at that. “For work
only?”

He shook his head. “No.”

“Where does she run?” I asked, bewildered.
Shifters loved their open space.

“I don’t know, Olie, it’s not something I’ve
ever pried into before. She takes care of her territory. The fact
you keep throwing her name around as a traitor is very disturbing.
Compass Alphas are charged with taking care of millions of
shifters. For one to be as deceitful as you are claiming—it’s just
not possible. They protect the pack, they always have.”

I nodded, pressing my lips together to stop
my words. I couldn’t see Sage with Mark and Jerry. I’d have to go
alone. But leaving my backup raised its own problems. How did I get
into the nest of Sage and leave again in one piece?

“Go get cleaned and up and get something to
eat,” I said. “We can figure out the mole later.” Mark nodded,
relieved I was letting it rest.

Jerry had ordered room service and I sat in
their room eating in silence. Jerry raised an eyebrow at me when
Mark excused himself to go the bathroom.

I shook my head, Mark would hear us.

He pulled out his phone.
What’s going
on?
he typed.

I debated telling Jerry. I thought he’d
understand, but his loyalty was to Mark. I took his phone.
We
will figure it out tomorrow.

Jerry shook his head.
But you know who the
mole is.

I think I know. Mark’s having a hard time
accepting it.

Jerry read the message, locking his phone
when the door to the bathroom opened.

After we ate I went back to my room to text
Logan. Mark may have accused me of being reckless, but I knew when
I was getting in over my head. Well, usually.

I think Sage is trying to kill us.

I opened the mate bond fully, feeling Logan’s
shock and immediate dismissal. What was the deal with this
bitch?

He felt my irritation at the situation, I was
sure
. Olivia, jealousy is a powerful emotion for
shifters.

Seriously? Do you really think I give a fuck
who you shoved your dick into? Never mind, I’ll deal with it
myself.

I locked my phone, my anger spiking when he
tried to push the mate bond.

I texted Tommy
, Can you find the address
of Sage the North Compass Alpha please?

You really pissed off Logan.

I really don’t care.

You should be nicer to him. He’s struggling
with Ginny and keeping the legal battles at bay until you get
back.

Well fuck if I didn’t feel guilty now.

I went back to the mate bond and let my
unspoken apology seep into the golden threads. I felt his emotions
unwind, instantly merging with mine.

We good?
Logan texted me.

Yeah
, I responded. There was more to
say, but I let it go. Tommy was right, we each had our own burdens
right now. It wasn’t fair for me to add to his plate.

Get some rest, I texted him.

You too, I heard about the griffin.

I scoffed, wondering who told on me.
Yeah,
apparently the djinn isn’t done with me yet. Oh, and it ruined the
duster.

Dammit, you’ve only had it for a few
weeks.

Such is the life of an executioner.

For now
, Logan responded. My ire
snapped to the surface and only years of concealing my emotions
kept it from reaching the mate bond.

We will see
, is what I opted for
instead. It was sweet he wanted to protect me, but I was an equal,
able to protect myself. That was a point I was going to remind
everyone of.

I
awoke after only a few hours of sleep and tested my calf. The skin
was pink and new, the muscle beneath reknitted together. My
shoulders and stomach bore no reminders of the griffin attack. I
dressed quickly in jeans and a black shirt, my leather jacket over
the ensemble.

Following the directions on my phone, I went
to a 24-hour hardware store to pick up a few items. After lugging
my purchases back, I spread them out on the bed and debated. I
could continue with this plan of breaking into Sage’s by myself, or
I could bring Mark and Jerry on board.

My ego demanded I prove them all fucking
wrong and show how badass I was.

Common sense had other ideas. The bitch.

I sighed and waited for them to wake up.

…

I had my gun collection spread out around me,
oiling and cleaning them, when Jerry stuck his head in. His sleepy
eyes took in the collection before landing on my bag of goodies. He
woke up quickly after that.

“What’s going on?”

“I went shopping,” I sighed. “I have a plan.
Neither of you are going to like it.”

“It’s too early for this shit!” Mark yelled
at me, and I heard the bathroom door shut.

Once Mark and Jerry were dressed and we had
called for room service, I outlined my plan.

“That’s a terrible idea! You cannot go to see
Sage alone!” Mark yelled, pacing.

“Does Logan know about this?” Jerry asked
softy.

I turned my frosty, sea green gaze to him.
“No, and he won’t, either. He is looking at houses today while
Ginny is being watched by the new nanny.”

Mark grunted and I countered, “If Sage isn’t
a threat and isn’t the mole, I fail to see the problem.

“You are two females who want the same male,”
Mark stated, exasperated.

“First off, I have said male. Second, if she
tried to kill me, she would be signing her own death warrant.” He
couldn’t fight with that logic.

“She’s right,” Jerry told Mark after a
pause.

Mark glared at him. Jerry continued, turning
his attention to me, “How are we going to get on the roof?”

“There is a landing pad there. I called in a
favor, you two will be dropped off fifteen minutes after my
scheduled appointment,” I told them.

“How do you plan on hiding the sound from
them? There is no way a helicopter will not be heard,” Mark asked,
happy to be picking holes in my plan.

“I don’t want to hide the sound. It’s going
to be my distraction if things go badly.”

“Go badly?” Jerry questioned. “What if things
go fine?”

“Then I’ll owe everyone a giant apology for
my jealously making me see things that aren’t there,” I huffed,
annoyed.

Jerry barely hid a smile. “I’m in.”

I glared at him. “You just want to watch me
eat it.”

“Yes, very much,” he smiled.

“When is your appointment?” Mark asked.

“Tomorrow at midnight.” I slid my clip back
into my pearl handled gun.

Mark grunted, “We leaving now?”

“No, I want to check out another location on
our list. It’s an hour from here on our way to Chicago, in
Waterloo.”

Mark and Jerry both raised their eyebrows in
disbelief. “I’m testing my theory,” I explained. “If no one attacks
us, we have narrowed down who is responsible.“

“Or it was just a coincidence,” Mark
tried.

“I don’t believe in coincidences.”

…

We drove to Waterloo without incident.

Slipping down from the leather seat, I
stretched, taking in the boarded up warehouse.

“Inside or out?” I asked Jerry, who was
working on the tablet.

“Outside,” he said as he began walking. Mark
and I followed.

We walked a full five miles in and around the
complex. No one attacked us. We didn’t find the plant, either.

“No one was here. It makes sense there was no
one to attack us,” Mark proclaimed, continuing to deny my
logic.

“We will see, we will see.”

…

Five hours later, we were pulling into the
parking garage for the hotel across the street from Sage. I didn’t
even want to know how expensive it was.

“Are you guys clear on the pick up?” I asked
for the tenth time.

“Yeah, Olie, we got it,” Jerry told me yet
again.

Mark had been silent and brooding since the
uneventful search.

I nodded as we unloaded our packs and headed
to check in.

I was overly alert to say the least. In my
mind we were in the belly of the beast. Nothing happened, however,
and I was wondering if perhaps I was being paranoid.

Once in the room, I called Logan.

“Hey,” he greeted me. Warmth instantly spread
across my chest.

“Hi, how did house hunting go?”

“I think I found one. We must have looked at
twenty.”

“Wow.” I heard his turn signal click on.
“Where are you headed?” I asked.

“I got an emergency call from two new members
of the pack. They’re having trouble controlling their animals.” He
sounded tired.

“Ginny doing good with the new sitter?”

He grunted, “I’ve called every hour and I
swear she hasn’t cried once.”

I laughed, “That’s a good sign.”

“Yeah, the kids are watching her while she
sleeps now.”

“They’re old enough to watch her sleep,” I
agreed.

The sound of his seatbelt clicking signaled
the end of the call. “Be careful,” I told him, wishing I was there
to back him up.

He laughed, “Always.”

We hung up and I went to shower and change
for tonight’s festivities. I felt a little bad not telling Logan
about Sage, but I didn’t want to hear about my jealously anymore.
Besides, if I was wrong, I’d be making too many apologies
already.

Emerging dressed in jeans and a royal blue
shirt, I slipped my gun holsters under my leather jacket, followed
by my dagger in the small of my back and throwing knives in my
boots.

Overkill? Maybe. Unless I was right, and then
I’d feel a little underprepared.

The hustle across the street was chilly. I
rushed into the pristine white lobby, grateful for the warmth.

A large shifter stood up behind his small
desk, giving me a once-over. “Can I help you?” he rumbled.

I needed an ID to flash in these situations.
“Olivia, here to see Sage.”

His eyes widened slightly. “Of the Council,
and Mate?”

“Yep, that would be me.”

“Forgive me, I didn’t know you were coming.”
He hustled around the desk, using his key to call the elevator.

“Have you noticed anything strange going on
here?” I asked, slanting him a glance as the elevator counted down
floors.

He moved his weight from foot to foot.
“Strange?” he repeated.

I turned to face him. “Yeah, weird. Strange
people, unexplained issues?” I let the question hang between
us.

He ducked his head before looking back at me,
shrugging. “I’ve only just started. They found the previous guard
dismembered by an animal.”

My eyes rounded as his meaning penetrated. I
sure as shit hadn’t heard of this.

“An animal?” I repeated.

He nodded slowly. “Apparently there was a
wolf sighted in the area.”

The elevator dinged. “Thanks,” I uttered as I
stepped in, ready to cause some havoc. How fucking dare she kill on
my territory? Oh wow, that was all shifter emotion and logic there.
Still, it was my territory under The Council as well.

“Hey, um, should I call someone for you?”

Aww, how sweet, he was concerned.

“Nope, I got this.” I hit the large P for
penthouse and the doors closed between us.

My arms were crossed over my chest, fingers
drumming against my forearm. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the
bitch and her fucking minions.

The elevator sputtered. I reached a hand out
to steady myself. She wouldn’t, right? Sage wouldn’t dare try and
off me in an elevator.

The quick pace resumed and I again assumed my
annoyed position.

The silver doors opened silently and I pulled
my guns, expecting an ambush. When none came, I re-holstered,
stepping into the gray and white interior.

No one greeted me.

“Sage, show yourself,” I stated, not needing
to raise my voice for her shifter hearing.

Behind a black piano, a figure moved into my
line of sight. Dressed in a skin-tight black strapless, she
sauntered into the room.

“Olivia, it’s so good to see you. I hope you
are having success in your wild goose chase,” she purred.

I grunted, “First off, how do you know it’s a
wild goose chase, and second, are you admitting to setting those
traps?”

She poured herself a glass of champagne,
smoothing back an errant strand that had separated from her high
bun.

“I know because I am the one who is growing
the St. Helen Olive,” she admitted proudly, taking a sip.

“What?” I was having a hard time making the
jump. “You are telling me that you created the shot that can make a
shifter, like you, go insta-beast?

She nodded, a smile on her ruby lips. “Well,
I really can’t take all the credit. Amin, come say hello to our
guest.”

“Yes, my Queen,” the gray-skinned djinn
stated, appearing behind Sage with an arm around her waist, his
lips at her neck.

“You are betraying your entire species!” I
was still having a hard time with this.

“No, I am saving the shifters,” she hissed.
“I’d already have challenged Logan, except for you.” She pulled out
of Amin’s embrace, stalking to me. “You are helping a dying man.
Hell, now you are mated to a man with a time limit. Logan is weak,
his rule with Lorraine proved that, and I am simply correcting the
imbalance.”

“Then challenge him,” I answered with a
shrug.