KnightForce Deuces (33 page)

Silas stood and called Angus. “
Meet me in my
office in five minutes
.”

“I’ve been drinking, do I need to be
sober?
” Angus said.

“No, I’ll send someone else to deal with
Henry Dreft
.”

“I’ll be there in four
,” Angus
said.

Silas looked at the men in the monitor
standing. “Good night, gentlemen. We will talk again.” He nodded
and left the room. Hawke walked behind him.

Chapter 29

Angus slid behind the tree in front of the
Dreft’s home. Midnight shadows concealed his face and black attire.
Inhaling, a surge of energy flooded his system. Angus thanked the
Goddess Silas had allowed him to leave immediately for Colorado to
personally deal with this. Despite Silas’ demand that he make this
quick, in and out, like a ghost leaving no trace, Angus savored the
feeling of the hunt a few seconds longer.

Opening all of his senses, he sought his prey.
Claws sprang from his fingertips and his fangs dropped, crowding
his mouth as the scent and voice of Henry Dreft floated to him. His
beast strained against his belly, eager to bring down the
threat.

“Easy, ghosts, remember,” he murmured easing
his wolf. His ear flicked. Henry had guests, two based on the
heartbeats. Remembering his directive, Angus forced his fangs back
into his mouth and demanded his claws retract.

“Soon,” he promised his whimpering wolf as he
edged closer to the house for a better visual. The last time he saw
Henry, he had been sniveling in the emergency room over his
brother’s death. Had he been faking his sorrow? His pain? Angus
hadn’t smelled deceit on the small man. Something must have
happened afterward. Because the man speaking to these other men
sounded eager, confident and nothing like the Henry he
met.

Traces of chemicals teased Angus’ nostrils. Had
Henry stocked the components necessary to create the drug, Amplify?
If so, Angus would remove everything before he finished. Glancing
at his watch, he listened as they discussed making illegal profits
using wolf blood as a base. Fire licked through his system at the
cavalier manner in which they discussed hunting down his pack-mates
for their illegal brew.

Henry would die by his hands tonight. If Silas
hadn’t made him promise not to leave any trace of their
involvement, he would storm in and kill them all instead of
searching for security equipment, specifically cameras. As the
seconds ticked, Angus was reminded of the time limit on this
mission, he had to return to the compound before sunrise or Silas
would send Asia and Tyrese to bring him home. No matter how Angus
argued for more time, Silas didn’t relent. He had wanted to send a
team but Angus believed this was his mess to clean up.

“How can you tell which are real wolves and
which aren’t?” One of the men asked.

Angus stopped his search to listen.

“Vern got this from an old dude. That’s how we
knew where to go. Just hold it up and it blinks for real
wolves.”

“But they don’t go around looking like wolves,
do they?”

“No but if you come across a wolf in the woods,
you hold this up. If it doesn’t blink, you shoot them with this
tranquilizer, or kill it anyway if it comes at you,” Henry
said.

Angus clenched and unclenched his
fist.

“Is it true they are bigger than ordinary
wolves?”

“Some are, not all of them are big, that’s why
we use this when we go hunting. Vern and I did it all the time,
finally got lucky with the last one. He was big and heavy. Took a
while to get him to the barn but it was worth it,” Henry
said.

“I should’ve killed the bastard in the
hospital,” Angus murmured, berating himself for being merciful to
the little fool who squandered his life like his
brother.

“Okay, when do we go hunting?” one of the men
asked.

“Tomorrow night. There are some things I need
to finish here to get paid, after that I won’t have to worry about
anything for a while,” Henry said.

“Yeah? Like what?” A different male said, his
voice filled with greed. Angus wondered if Henry would be dumb
enough to tell his secrets.

“None of your business, Wayne.”

No one spoke for a few moments. “Just asked, no
need to get all huffy and bent out of shape,” Wayne said. “What
time do we come back tomorrow?”

“Around six, after supper,” Henry
said.

Angus leaned against the tree, listening as the
two men left and hopped on motorcycles. A moment or two later they
pulled out and left down the road. Listening to the sounds inside,
Angus moved closer and peeked through the blinds. He couldn’t get a
great view of Henry but he saw a part of him in the room near the
door. Angus pulled out his scanner to determine the type of
security system Henry used and was surprised there was
none.

Pleased with his discovery, Angus crept to the
other side heading toward the door. A broken twig caught his
attention. He recognized the scent of one of the men who just left
on their bike. Wayne must’ve returned by foot. The young man slid
inside a utility room door. A few seconds later, Angus saw him
inside the house.

“What are you doing, Wayne?” Henry asked
sounding amused.

“Give me the money, all of it or give me that
device, it’s worth something. Vern owed me, so you pay me or I’ll
shoot you.”

Angus leaned against the wall and shook his
head in disbelief.
Goddess, please don’t rob me of my chance for
vengeance
.

“What the hell are you doing?” Wayne
screamed.

Angus looked in a window and saw Wayne’s feet
off the floor and Henry holding him by the neck, squeezing. Angus
moved to another window and couldn’t see. Finally he went inside
the same door Wayne entered earlier and watched Henry choke the
life out of the man with one hand.

Intrigued by Henry’s strength and focus, Angus
decided to take Henry’s memories to discover this ability to
compartmentalize the drug to this degree. When Wayne stopped
struggling and went limp, Henry lowered the much larger man,
snapped his neck and tossed him on the ground.

Did the drug alter personalities? Clearly
something had happened since he saw the man last. Angus stepped
into the room and looked at Wayne’s still body on the
floor.

Henry spun around and stared at him. “Who are
you?”

“Word has come to us that you are selling drugs
in our territory,” Angus said with a hint of Spanish accent as he
moved closer, inhaling but not smelling any drugs or fear.
Interesting.

Henry crossed his arms, his arrogant gaze
touched Angus’ face, chest and then back to his face. “Really? Your
territory? Since when?”

Angus waved away the comment and stepped closer
with one hand in his pocket.

Henry frowned and scrunched his nose. “Who are
you? You smell like someone familiar.”

Angus mimicked Henry’s stance and processed his
comment. Did the drug amplify the sense of smell? How could Henry
distinguish his scents? Hawke definitely needed to research this
drug more. It sounded more and more like a combination of the drug
Tyrese received when he was kidnapped.

“Are you selling drugs in our territory?” Angus
pressed.

The next second, Angus’ back slammed into the
wall, leaving a dent. Excruciating pain ran in both directions from
his spine. His ear rang and dots floated in front of his face.
Henry had moved so fast, Angus hadn’t seen him. Henry stood over
Angus with his foot on his chest, pressing downward.

“Who are you? Why do you smell familiar?” Henry
asked leaning forward with his hand on his knee. The maniacal gleam
in Henry’s eyes didn’t care what Angus said, he planned to hurt
Angus regardless, or he would try.

Shaken by the blow and armed with the knowledge
the man he hunted enjoyed the hunt as much as any wolf, Angus took
a shallow breath. He grabbed Henry’s ankle. The tingle of the
chameleon flowed into Henry as Angus pretended to try and move the
man from his chest. Memories, scenes from previous days ran through
Angus’ mind.

Henry and Vern as small children, on their own
seeking food and a safe place to stay warm or dry. As the years
flew by, Henry remained in Vern’s shadow. Vern lived by the laws of
the street and committed many crimes. Robbery, assault, theft,
drugs, disorderly conduct under the influence. His inability to
remain sober cost him his driver’s license.

Henry shook off Angus’ hand, grabbed him by the
shirt and pulled him off the ground. Considering Angus in his human
form outweighed the smaller man by almost two hundred pounds that
was no small accomplishment.

“I asked you a damn question, answer me or
you’ll end up like Wayne or some of the others.” Henry shook
him.

Angus placed his hand on top of Henry’s to
gather as much information as he could before he killed him.
“Others? What others?”

Henry laughed a cackling sound, void of humor.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?”

Angus frowned at the memories trailing in. Vern
degraded and humiliated the much smaller Henry, often in public.
Henry had been able to find work and took care of all the bills,
including the ones Vern made. Every time Henry became interested in
a woman, Vern did something to drive the woman off. They argued
over Vern’s inability to remain sober of contribute financially.
Henry saved enough money to buy this house and the two of them
repaired it.

Henry threw Angus against the wall, breaking
the connection. Angus and Henry’s gazes clashed. As curious as he
was about a compound that would increase human abilities and allow
them to remain sane, Angus was done allowing this asshole to throw
him around. He jumped up and punched Henry in the
stomach.

The fool smiled and threw a punch, knocking
Angus back a few steps. Henry charged. Angus sidestepped and hooked
Henry around the neck for a chokehold. Henry slapped his arm and
wiggled to break free. The chameleon tingled and more information
registered.

Vern coaxed Henry into making the first batch
of the drug. He had received a solution from Ollie Brown with
instructions on how to mix the ingredients. Henry hadn’t followed
the instructions completely and placed less of the things he knew
were toxic and more of the other things. Vern made Henry take the
first shot. Henry begged for his life, Vern knocked him down and
gave Henry the shot.

Over the next few hours, Henry’s body changed.
His senses sharpened, his strength increased and his hatred for his
brother grew. He increased the toxic blood for Vern’s shot,
promising his brother more strength and muscle. After Vern took the
shot, he turned into a mini-hulk and gradually lost his mind.
Initially guilt ate Henry, especially when Vern died. But he
recognized and embraced the changes in himself. And sought to sell
the drug to the highest bidder. Angus wasn’t surprised Henry
contacted someone in the military.

Henry twisted and slid down a bit and then
jumped, the motion caused Angus’ grip to loosen. Growling like an
animal, Henry threw a punch.

Angus ducked, countered with another punch to
the stomach and then the chin, snapping Henry’s head back, causing
him to stumble back a few steps.

Henry shook his head and grinned.

Angus’ wolf batted his paw against his belly,
eager to bring down their prey.

“So you expect me to believe you’re a Mafioso?
Everyone knows they don’t talk, they take.” Henry pulled open a
drawer, took out a gun and pulled the trigger. The bullet grazed
Angus shoulder and burned like fire as it spread through his
system. His arm refused to move.

Henry slammed into him, sending him flying
against the wall.

“I don’t know why you refuse to listen to
me
,” Silas said his energy cooling the internal burn.
“
You’re too old to fight these young humans, even the amped-up
ones. I’ll send a rescue team in so you can take a
break
.”

Gasping for air, Angus watched Henry pull out a
syringe and head for him. “
Not happening, I got this
fool.
”

“Since you won’t tell me who you are, I have a
message for you to take back to your people. This is a just a
sample of what’s coming.” He grabbed Angus’ arm.

Angus slapped the hand with the needle and
kicked Henry in the groin. He rolled to his feet and backhanded
Henry who spun around but didn’t fall.

“You asshole, look what you made me do,” Henry
yelled staring at the syringe on the floor. He dove for the
needle.

Angus leapt forward and knocked Henry to the
ground. Henry tried to buck Angus off but Angus didn’t budge.
Instead, he punched Henry in the face, repeatedly with all of his
fury. With every hit, he thought of the death of innocent
pack-mates and what this asshole and his brother stole from
him.

Knuckles bloodied, Angus took a deep breath and
placed his palms on Henry’s ears, that part of him was still
recognizable. The tingle of the bracelet and then information
flowed freely. Angus was surprised and saddened by the indignities
Henry suffered in his short life. Another piece of the puzzle
clicked. Henry had been the person leaving the house before Jasper
threw the stink bomb inside. At the time Angus thought the scent
was familiar but couldn’t place it. Somehow the drugs Henry had
been taking altered body chemistry to the point his scent
changed.