Dark Instincts
Page 51
Taryn tilted her head. “Looks kind of pitiful, doesn’t she?”
Jaime nodded. “Bless her little black heart.”
“Heart?” snorted Shaya.
“Well, the hole where her heart should be.”
Taryn stepped forward. “Who created snm.com?”
The jackal didn’t lift her head as she sniffled, “My pack did.”
“Be more specific.”
Her shoulders shook with her sobs. “My Alpha, Lyle Browne.”
“Anyone else involved?”
“No.” Her voice was low, sad, and sluggish—she sounded defeated. “Sometimes people hire him to get rid of someone, and he uses them for the vids. But the website is his. It’s his baby.”
“Speaking of babies, why did you go after my son?”
The jackal shrugged, like it was simple. “The more notorious the pack, the more credit people receive if they manage to get their hands on one of them.”
“Is that why you went after Roni?”
“One of the reasons. I mean, she’s an enforcer, a powerful Alpha’s sister, and she’s fucking a Phoenix enforcer.”
“And the second reason?”
“She pissed someone off.”
Roni snorted. “That’s a regular occurrence. Who was it this time?”
“Lola McGee.”
Jaime frowned. “Quinn’s mate?”
“Motherfucker,” Roni bit out as all the wolves growled.
Marcus came forward then, equally enraged. “How involved is Quinn? Does he know Lola sent you after Roni?”
“I don’t know. She spoke to Lyle when he made his monthly call. I don’t know exactly what she said.”
Marcus turned to Dante, his voice like ice. “Quinn had to have known.”
“Not necessarily,” said the Beta male. “Lola didn’t go through Quinn; she spoke directly to Lyle—that might mean that she knew Quinn wouldn’t allow it so she went around him.”
Nick came to stand beside Roni. “Where’s your pack?”
The jackal looked up then. “Would you give up your pack? Nothing’s worth that kind of betrayal.”
“They left you behind,” Roni pointed out. “When they saw a human was coming, they scampered. They didn’t try to fight me to get to you. They must know I’ve got you and that I brought you here, but they haven’t come for you. What does that say about them?”
Taryn squatted in front of the jackal. “It says they have no loyalty to you. So why should you have any loyalty to them?”
“Why should I have any loyalty to you?” the blonde retorted. “You’re going to kill me. You want to do it so badly, don’t you? I can see it in your eyes. You want to give in to the basic urges we all have. You’re like me. We’re the same.”
“I’d never hurt a child. That makes us very, very different.”
The jackal gestured at Roni. “She’s not different. I saw you in one of the videos. You were terrified, weren’t you? But I’ve got to give you points for one thing: you didn’t beg. No matter how much he threatened you, how much he screamed at you and ordered you to beg him to let you go, you just wouldn’t. You even spat in his face. I enjoyed that part.”
Roni didn’t give the bitch the reaction she wanted. “So glad I entertained you.”
“Your pack has a kill site,” rumbled Marcus. “Where is it?”
“Ooh, well done. Lyle would be pissed if he knew you’d figured out that our attacks happen in one spot.”
“The site. Where is it?” repeated Marcus.
“I told you, I won’t betray my pack.”
“For you to say that, the kill site must also be where your pack is hiding out,” concluded Jaime.
“Maybe you should leave my pack alone and take a closer look at your own breed.”
Knowing that statement echoed something that Johnson had told Nick, Roni exchanged a worried look with her brother. She didn’t want it to be true.
Nick took another step forward. “Are you saying a wolf shifter is involved in this?” She nodded, her smile taunting. “But just a few minutes ago, you said this was Lyle’s baby.”
“The idea is, yeah. But he needed someone to help him set up the website.”
“Why would a wolf help out a bunch of jackals with something like this?”
“Because he gets off on watching. Sometimes, he kidnaps young females and takes them to the site. Then he watches while my pack tortures, rapes, and kills them.”
Sick piece of shit.
“Who is he?” demanded Taryn.
“I don’t know his name.” When Nick’s claws sliced out, the jackal shouted, “I don’t, I swear! Lyle just called him ‘the tech guy,’ or ‘the wolf.’”
“What does he look like?” asked Shaya.
“Tall, gangly, dark eyes, and he has a tattoo on his arm. They’re Chinese symbols, but I don’t know what they mean.”
Marcus recalled seeing a tall male lurking in the background of the vids with such a tattoo on his arm, but none of the footage showed a clear image of him or the tattoo. They’d all assumed he was part of the jackal pack.
“That’s all I can tell you without betraying my pack and endangering my family.”
“Good enough.” Without warning, Taryn shoved her claws into the female’s stomach and twisted her hand sharply, slitting the jackal open. “That’s how it felt when I realized my son might have been taken from me. And that’s what every other parent will have felt when you took their child. You deserve exactly what you got.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
How did one go about calming a six-foot, brooding, pissed-the-fuck-off, dominant male wolf? Roni didn’t know.
She had soothed her brothers’ anger many times, but her techniques were having no effect whatsoever on Marcus at the moment. He was pacing outside the barn, refusing to go inside the lodge with the others while he was in that state. His protective instincts were going crazy, feeding his rage, feeding his desire to invade McGee’s territory and, as he’d so eloquently put it, “tear his fucking head off his shoulders and feed it to his bitch of a mate.”
Being the voice of reason was hard when she kind of liked that idea too. “Marcus, we don’t know that he had anything to do with Lola’s plan.”
Jaime nodded. “Bless her little black heart.”
“Heart?” snorted Shaya.
“Well, the hole where her heart should be.”
Taryn stepped forward. “Who created snm.com?”
The jackal didn’t lift her head as she sniffled, “My pack did.”
“Be more specific.”
Her shoulders shook with her sobs. “My Alpha, Lyle Browne.”
“Anyone else involved?”
“No.” Her voice was low, sad, and sluggish—she sounded defeated. “Sometimes people hire him to get rid of someone, and he uses them for the vids. But the website is his. It’s his baby.”
“Speaking of babies, why did you go after my son?”
The jackal shrugged, like it was simple. “The more notorious the pack, the more credit people receive if they manage to get their hands on one of them.”
“Is that why you went after Roni?”
“One of the reasons. I mean, she’s an enforcer, a powerful Alpha’s sister, and she’s fucking a Phoenix enforcer.”
“And the second reason?”
“She pissed someone off.”
Roni snorted. “That’s a regular occurrence. Who was it this time?”
“Lola McGee.”
Jaime frowned. “Quinn’s mate?”
“Motherfucker,” Roni bit out as all the wolves growled.
Marcus came forward then, equally enraged. “How involved is Quinn? Does he know Lola sent you after Roni?”
“I don’t know. She spoke to Lyle when he made his monthly call. I don’t know exactly what she said.”
Marcus turned to Dante, his voice like ice. “Quinn had to have known.”
“Not necessarily,” said the Beta male. “Lola didn’t go through Quinn; she spoke directly to Lyle—that might mean that she knew Quinn wouldn’t allow it so she went around him.”
Nick came to stand beside Roni. “Where’s your pack?”
The jackal looked up then. “Would you give up your pack? Nothing’s worth that kind of betrayal.”
“They left you behind,” Roni pointed out. “When they saw a human was coming, they scampered. They didn’t try to fight me to get to you. They must know I’ve got you and that I brought you here, but they haven’t come for you. What does that say about them?”
Taryn squatted in front of the jackal. “It says they have no loyalty to you. So why should you have any loyalty to them?”
“Why should I have any loyalty to you?” the blonde retorted. “You’re going to kill me. You want to do it so badly, don’t you? I can see it in your eyes. You want to give in to the basic urges we all have. You’re like me. We’re the same.”
“I’d never hurt a child. That makes us very, very different.”
The jackal gestured at Roni. “She’s not different. I saw you in one of the videos. You were terrified, weren’t you? But I’ve got to give you points for one thing: you didn’t beg. No matter how much he threatened you, how much he screamed at you and ordered you to beg him to let you go, you just wouldn’t. You even spat in his face. I enjoyed that part.”
Roni didn’t give the bitch the reaction she wanted. “So glad I entertained you.”
“Your pack has a kill site,” rumbled Marcus. “Where is it?”
“Ooh, well done. Lyle would be pissed if he knew you’d figured out that our attacks happen in one spot.”
“The site. Where is it?” repeated Marcus.
“I told you, I won’t betray my pack.”
“For you to say that, the kill site must also be where your pack is hiding out,” concluded Jaime.
“Maybe you should leave my pack alone and take a closer look at your own breed.”
Knowing that statement echoed something that Johnson had told Nick, Roni exchanged a worried look with her brother. She didn’t want it to be true.
Nick took another step forward. “Are you saying a wolf shifter is involved in this?” She nodded, her smile taunting. “But just a few minutes ago, you said this was Lyle’s baby.”
“The idea is, yeah. But he needed someone to help him set up the website.”
“Why would a wolf help out a bunch of jackals with something like this?”
“Because he gets off on watching. Sometimes, he kidnaps young females and takes them to the site. Then he watches while my pack tortures, rapes, and kills them.”
Sick piece of shit.
“Who is he?” demanded Taryn.
“I don’t know his name.” When Nick’s claws sliced out, the jackal shouted, “I don’t, I swear! Lyle just called him ‘the tech guy,’ or ‘the wolf.’”
“What does he look like?” asked Shaya.
“Tall, gangly, dark eyes, and he has a tattoo on his arm. They’re Chinese symbols, but I don’t know what they mean.”
Marcus recalled seeing a tall male lurking in the background of the vids with such a tattoo on his arm, but none of the footage showed a clear image of him or the tattoo. They’d all assumed he was part of the jackal pack.
“That’s all I can tell you without betraying my pack and endangering my family.”
“Good enough.” Without warning, Taryn shoved her claws into the female’s stomach and twisted her hand sharply, slitting the jackal open. “That’s how it felt when I realized my son might have been taken from me. And that’s what every other parent will have felt when you took their child. You deserve exactly what you got.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
How did one go about calming a six-foot, brooding, pissed-the-fuck-off, dominant male wolf? Roni didn’t know.
She had soothed her brothers’ anger many times, but her techniques were having no effect whatsoever on Marcus at the moment. He was pacing outside the barn, refusing to go inside the lodge with the others while he was in that state. His protective instincts were going crazy, feeding his rage, feeding his desire to invade McGee’s territory and, as he’d so eloquently put it, “tear his fucking head off his shoulders and feed it to his bitch of a mate.”
Being the voice of reason was hard when she kind of liked that idea too. “Marcus, we don’t know that he had anything to do with Lola’s plan.”
