Bloodlines (67 page)

“It won’t change anything.” Anthony sounded like he was only just managing to keep his calm. “I’m sorry that Redford got hurt, I understand how angry you are, but killing these men won’t protect the pack. There’ll just be more of them tomorrow.”

“Then I’ll
blow them up
too.” Jed’s voice rose into something not at all a whisper. “And I’ll keep doing it, because they hurt Red. Get that? They hurt
my
Redford, and now I’m going to turn them into confetti.”

“No, you’re not,” Anthony said firmly. “We can scare them off. We can send a message that will make them think twice about bringing more hunters in. Killing them obviously isn’t deterring them.”

“Why the hell did you even come?” Scowling, Jed stood, bag over his shoulder. “This isn’t a damn tea party. Go home, kid.”

Anthony promptly yanked him back down. “I came to stop you doing
this
,” he growled. “We’re not animals, Jed. We were given brains for a reason.”

“What would you do, then?” Jed met Anthony’s eyes, practically vibrating for how much he needed to
hurt
someone. Something. Punch a goddamn tree, he didn’t care, just
something
needed to break, because Redford was bleeding. “Sit back and wait for them to pick you off one by one? These bastards only understand
one
thing, and it isn’t reason.”

“Playing by
their
rules isn’t going to win this.” Anthony laid a hand over the top of Jed’s bag, curled under the strap. “I would blow up the perimeter of their camp. Scare them away, and once they’re gone, we could look for more information in the camp. We could go higher up the chain of command, which would be a lot more effective.”

But not
nearly
as satisfying. “You realize,” he growled, holding Anthony’s gaze, “that not one of those fuckers would hesitate even a second in blowing your head off. Or anyone else back at that camp.”

Anthony just smiled. “I know. But that’s why we’re better than them, and that’s why we’re going to win.”

“Son of a—” Sighing, rubbing a hand through his hair, Jed just glared at him. But the goddamn earnest wolf eyes were out in full force, and in the end, he wound up jerking his head in a nod. “Fine.
Fine
. We’ll do it your way.”

“Okay.” Anthony tugged at Jed’s bag. “Get your explosives. Maybe put them in the tree line near their tents?”

“Stick close.” Jed nodded, starting out toward the tents again. “And try to keep your furry ass down.” He made his way slowly toward the camp, doing his best to be nearly silent.

He and Anthony planted the explosives around the entire perimeter of the camp. Each one was on a timer, and as soon as they put down the last one, Jed grabbed Anthony’s shoulder and hauled him up over the ridge again. They’d just barely got down, Jed sprawling over Anthony protectively, when the bombs went off.

Explosions sprayed up dirt and fire, a deafening thunder of noise. As soon as the debris started to rain down on them, Jed was up, gun out, watching the retreating backs of the hunters as they ran away as quickly as their legs could move them. Apparently picking off unarmed wolves in the dark was only fun if no one was blowing you up.

They waited. Anthony was just as tense behind him. Finally, Jed flicked the safety back on and, nodding at Anthony, picked his way carefully down to the empty camp.

Anthony caught up to Jed a few seconds later. “They’re still running,” he confirmed. “They won’t come back.”

They poked around the tents, finding more boxes of silver bullets. These had different etchings on the bottom. Buck was apparently no longer in the niche bullet manufacturing trade. But other than that, clues were scarce.

“You said you knew where he was? The man who employed Buck?” Anthony said as he rolled a silver bullet between his fingers.

He glanced over at Anthony. “I absolutely do. And I think it’s high time we paid him a visit.”

“Count me in.” As he stood from where he’d been stooped over a tent, Anthony wasn’t showing a single sign of his illness. None of the stiff movements Jed had been witness to, the shaking hands, the momentary spasms of pain. Anthony’s expression was grim, his lips pulled tight, but if Jed didn’t know better, he’d say he was just a healthy kid about to go on a murder spree. Apparently anger was enough to make him forget the pain. Jed’d bet fifty bucks and his last condom, though, that Anthony would be paying for it later.

“You sure, Lassie?” Jed gave him a quick smirk. “Not going to be a lot of hugs involved.”

For once, Anthony didn’t smile back. “I hate hunters.”

Yeah, Jed could see where that’d be the case. Jed nodded, regarding him. “All right, then. Let’s get going.”

They trekked back to the camp, a lot slower this time, thank God. By the time they walked in, the wolves were huddled together, the Gray Lady standing in the middle of the group, obviously working on keeping them calm. She looked over as Jed approached, but he didn’t waste a lot of time. “We’re going to put an end to this,” Jed informed her.

“The hunters?” she asked tensely.

Jed gave her a flat smile. “I wouldn’t worry about them. They’re not going to be your problem for much longer.”

Redford, still curled up with Knievel by one of the fires, looked up at Jed. He saw no worry in Redford’s eyes—only support. Jed nodded at him, his dog tags still around his neck. It felt strange to be wearing them, now.

“Jed,” came Victor’s disapproving tones, “you probably set half the woods on fire. Did you really need to use explosives? Not that I’m not happy the hunters are gone, mind you, but that was a bit excessive.”

“The fires are out” was Jed’s reply. He walked over to Redford, dropping the chain holding the dog tags and the whistle back around Redford’s neck. A silent promise that he was coming back. “And yeah. I fucking needed to use explosives. They’re damn lucky I didn’t bring the goddamn rocket launcher. And don’t you fucking tell me you’d do any different if you were me.” They’d hurt Redford. They were a threat that constantly followed the wolves, yes, but
they’d hurt Redford
.

Victor grimaced, looking faintly embarrassed. “You’re right,” he said. Randall, helping to gather some of the younger wolves together, gave Victor a surprised look. “Good luck with what you’re about to do next. If you need more weapons, I’m sure we can scrounge up some more.”

“We’re good.” Jed clapped Victor on the shoulder and nodded toward the faint path leading down the mountain to where the few communal pack vehicles were stashed. “Come on, Ant. Let’s ride.”

While he’d been talking, Anthony had obviously gone to get clothes, because he reappeared next to Jed in jeans and a heavy jacket. “Do you know where we’re going?”

“Yup. I always know where my employers work. Even if they don’t want me to. Especially repeat customers.” He’d made that a hard and fast rule after Filtiarn. They could maintain their illusion of privacy as much as they wanted to, but at the end of the day, Jed knew who was behind the mask or he walked away.

They reached the cave the pack had commandeered as a sort of garage after an hour of hiking. After tossing his bag of supplies inside the Jeep, Jed climbed behind the wheel. Anthony clambered into the passenger seat, and they took off toward the main highway.

“His name is Leo O’Malley. This guy is a snake,” Jed informed Anthony. “Seems real slick, you know? But he’s got his fingers in shit even I don’t know about.”

“You said you’d worked with him before?” Anthony asked, canting his head to one side, obviously genuinely curious.

“Couple of jobs.” Jed nodded. “Nothing big. One was a retrieval job. Another just had me getting some info from a rival company. Hell, I didn’t even use my gun. But one was a nice little piece of insurance fraud.” Jed grinned, glancing over at Anthony. “Which means he’ll definitely talk to us. And might try to kill us.”

“Good.” Anthony nodded. “Is there any way I need to act so that he doesn’t kick us out?”

“Don’t piddle in the corner.” Jed shot Anthony a smirk.

Anthony rolled his eyes. “I’ll do my best to remember that.”

The drive was a few hours. They stopped for coffee, Jed let Anthony have control of the radio, and by the time the early morning sun was burning the mist from the roads, they were pulling in front of a nondescript office building. Unlike Buck’s place, which was cheapness striving for an illusion of grandeur, O’Malley’s place was quietly restrained wealth. The front was all glass, the lobby was marble and deep, rich mahogany wood, and the woman at the reception desk was wearing a suit that cost more than Jed’s entire wardrobe.

“We’re here to see Leo O’Malley.”

The receptionist just looked at Jed, eyebrow arched. “Isn’t that nice,” she mused, turning back to her work. “Let me know how that goes for you.”

Why didn’t anyone ever take him seriously?

In response, the start of a low growl rumbled in Anthony’s throat, and though he looked like he wanted to start threatening, he simply said, “Pick up the phone and tell O’Malley we’re here. Now.”

A very slow grin split Jed’s face as the woman stared at him and then, with a quick, cross breath, turned to do just that. Goddamn, that was useful. Usually to get that kind of reaction he’d have to pull out his guns. “Tell him Jed Walker is here,” he prompted, grin not diminishing at the woman’s scowl.

It only took a few moments before they were gestured toward the elevators and instructed to go to the top floor. Far from looking tense like Jed had half expected him to, Anthony looked completely relaxed, like this was something he did every day. “You’re kind of badass,” Jed informed Anthony with a smirk as they watched the floors tick by.

“It comes from an unlikely source,” Anthony laughed quietly. “Imagine Edwin as a toddler. Now imagine how stern I needed to sound to keep him from running off. It’s really just that.”

Snorting a quiet chuckle, Jed shook his head. “How you kept that kid from running off and joining the goddamn circus I’ll never know. You must be a hell of a dad.”

“Dad? Not likely.” For a moment, Anthony looked sad, but he wiped any trace of that from his expression quickly enough. The elevator reached its destination with a quiet bell for an alert, and as they stepped out, Anthony said, “One day, if I’m lucky.”

“Hey, you raise kids, they don’t die, that’s pretty much a dad in my book.” Jed led the way down the hall, shoulders tight, eyes darting to every doorway they passed. He didn’t like having this much unknown space at his back. But walking in here with guns drawn was a surefire way to get really, really dead. They’d have to play nice.

“Knock, knock, Leo.” Okay, kind of nice. Jed pushed the office door open and strode in, not bothering to wait to be admitted.

He’d never actually met Leo in person. All of their work had been done over the phone or by e-mail. But Jed had not a doubt in his mind that the man behind the expansive dark wood desk was the guy he was looking for.

Leo wasn’t tall or imposing. He had a handsome face, short, dark hair, but was utterly unimpressive. Until you met his eyes. They, behind the genial smile, were stone-ass cold. They were the eyes of a reptile, of something that would gladly unhinge its jaw and devour you whole. Jed had met a hundred men just like Leo. Every single one of them wanted one thing. Power.

So why the hell was Leo sending hunters after a bunch of wolves?

“Can I be of some assistance?” Leo asked, spreading his hands like he was welcoming them to a fucking tea party.

“Yeah. I’m gonna need some answers, here, Leo. Can I call you Leo?”

“I prefer Mr. O’Malley, as I hardly would classify us as friends, Mr. Walker.” Leo gestured for them to sit. Anthony ignored the invitation and stood right in front of his desk instead.

“Let’s talk about why you’re sending hunters to kill wolves,” Anthony said.

“I’m sorry?” Steepling his fingers, Leo arched an eyebrow at them. “Perhaps you are mistaken. I don’t have any environmental holdings, as far as I’m aware.”

“Cut the crap.” Jed leaned back in his chair, grinning the whole time. It wasn’t a pleasant look. “You’re bankrolling Buck Cambridge, who is in turn funneling your money into silver bullets and hunters to fire them.”

Leo tilted his head, studying them. “This is a nice fantasy. Why would I do any of what you’re suggesting? It sounds a lot like madness.”

“Listen here, sunshine. Why don’t you get on your little phone and try to call the men you just sent out.” Jed waved his hand. “Go ahead. We’ll wait.”

“Something tells me it wouldn’t do any good.” Leo sighed.

“Nope.” Jed’s manic grin grew. “I doubt they’ll be answering. They’re too busy running. And that? That was
foreplay
. So unless you want me to get balls deep in fucking you over, Leo, you are going to call them off.”

“But first I want to know
why
.” Anthony continued on where Jed had left off. “You’re completely human. Why are you going after wolves?”

Leo shrugged. “They are a menace. A few interested parties asked me if I could eliminate the pest problem. I agreed. Simple as that.”

“
Which
interested parties?” Anthony snarled.

To that, Leo just laughed. “Why, the vampires, of course. They want your flea-bitten race eliminated.”

Anthony visibly reined himself back. When he next spoke, the snarl was only implied, instead of outright voiced. “And why is a human making business deals with vampires?”

“Because they paid me, little puppy.” Leo stood, buttoning his suit jacket. “And they will continue to pay me. The men I sent out are cheap to buy and even cheaper still to arm, in the grand scheme of things. But do tell your lovely leader to try to run again. It’s so much more
fun
that way.”

“And why are wolves getting kidnapped? What are you capturing them for?” Anthony asked.

A very faint smirk crossed Leo’s face. That arrogant kind of sneer that made Jed want to reach for his gun and just start blasting, because
whatever
was behind it, it sure as hell wasn’t rainbows and unicorn farts. “I certainly never gave authorization for that,” Leo all but purred, leaning back in his chair, looking for all the world like the cat that ate the goddamn canary. “But I have heard that, in certain circles, men of taste enjoy having luxurious rugs made of unusual pelts. That may be where your missing pups have gotten to.”