But she was alive. After all this time, she was standing there, talking to him. Avery was going to be ecstatic… if Jaden could get them out there.
Holy fuck.
Step two: plan his escape, and apparently, a rescue.
“I ALREADY
told you. They’re not here.”
Avery sighed as Dylan and Heath flung open the doors of the Firebird and stepped outside. They were parked near Harting’s shipping yard and would proceed the rest of the way on foot… only Avery knew they wouldn’t find either Jaden or Warren there.
If Warren had Jaden—and it was a big
if
—Avery felt in his gut it would be at the cabin. Not that they had any actual evidence to tie Warren to Jaden’s disappearance. But Reid had told Avery to trust his instincts, so regardless of the lack of proof, they were investigating anyway. If it wasn’t Warren, they could rule him out and plan their next move. And if it was…. Well, then there’d be a reckoning.
Maybe Warren had meant to snatch Avery, not Jaden. He’d made his interest in Avery clear. But if that were the case, he would know by now he had the wrong guy. And if he
had
intended on taking Jaden, Avery could only guess at one reason why—to lure Avery himself.
It was a lot of
ifs
and
maybes
. Avery knew that. At this point, his “instincts” might simply be grasping at straws, frantic for any kind of answer that would bring his best friend home as soon as possible. But for several reasons, Avery sensed they were on the right path.
First, once Avery had spoken to Heath and a sleep-mussed version of the detective showed up on their front porch, they’d gone to Warren’s house. They’d received no reply when they pounded on the door. Then Avery had called Sven. No response from him either, and after realizing he’d never gotten Sven’s address, he’d texted Reid for help. Reid sent back the info for Sven within minutes and offered to meet up with them to assist. Avery declined. With Alpha Odell searching for Jaden too, there were more than enough people involved already.
They’d made their second stop at Sven’s, but if he’d been inside, he hadn’t answered. Both Dylan and Heath had scented the area and agreed his smell seemed diminished—which meant he probably hadn’t come or gone for several hours.
Missing Sven. Missing Jaden. And no Warren to be found.
It seemed mighty suspect—especially with Sven having just hired Avery to investigate Warren the other day.
Coming to the shipping yard felt like a waste of time, but Avery guessed it made sense to check every possibility in the city itself before they made the long drive to the cabin.
Avery stayed with the car while Dylan and Heath stripped and shifted. He didn’t like being left behind, but they were betting on at least one night security guard and figured they could hide more easily in their wolf forms. Avery’s hedgehog would be next to useless in this scenario. It pained him to acknowledge it, but he didn’t have any delusions of grandeur about his animal. He’d be vulnerable as hell, and his senses weren’t as keen as Dylan and Heath’s either. Better to wait for them, and if things went wrong, he’d be able to call the alpha for backup. Not that he wanted to. He planned to avoid contacting Alpha Odell unless it was absolutely crucial.
After twenty anxious minutes, Dylan and Heath returned. Avery didn’t need to ask to confirm they hadn’t found anything. Tightly contained fury emanated from Heath’s every movement as he yanked his clothes back on.
He was obviously upset about Jaden’s disappearance—even if he’d been ignoring Jaden for weeks. Avery supposed not wanting his mate and not caring if he was in danger were two very different things. With every hour that passed, Heath grew angrier.
Earlier they’d asked him to try to sense Jaden through their bond. They knew it had been a long shot. Sure, a mild connection had formed between Dylan and Avery before their mating—it was part of how Dylan had found him in Forest Park when Avery got abducted by Josiah—but only because they’d had numerous interactions over the years. Heath and Jaden barely knew each other, and they’d only spoken once since Heath moved into town, as far as Avery was aware.
The attempt was unsuccessful. Avery honestly hadn’t expected anything different. Yet Heath took it as a personal failure. Avery didn’t need supernatural vision to read Heath’s guilt and frustration. For a moment, he even rejoiced in Heath’s remorse. If Heath had used the past month to bond with Jaden instead of being a jerk, they might have had a chance at finding him that way. Maybe Jaden would’ve been at Heath’s place, safe with his mate, instead of being hurt and snatched from his condo by God knows who.
The next second, Avery felt awful for even thinking such a thing. It wasn’t Heath’s fault. No doubt he had his reasons for running from Jaden, and Avery didn’t have a clue what they were. He wasn’t in any position to judge, especially after what had happened prior to his own mating. Still, he was worried and missing his friend. He could be excused for ungracious thoughts. And really, being angry at each other served no purpose. That animosity would be better focused elsewhere—like on the bastards who’d taken Jaden in the first place.
“Are you guys satisfied here?” Avery asked once Dylan and Heath were dressed and settled in the driver and front passenger seats. “Can we go to the cabin now, please?”
Dylan nodded. Heath clenched his jaw so hard Avery heard his teeth grind.
“Let’s go, then.”
Dylan started the car. Avery leaned against the backseat and closed his eyes.
If Warren had Jaden at the cabin, they might be walking into a trap. Heath had some firepower on him—his standard-issue sidearm and tranquilizer guns—but would it be enough if Warren shifted? Avery had no idea.
Two wolves and a hedgehog against a bear. Avery would’ve laughed if anything about the situation could be found remotely funny.
Maybe instead of a couple of guns, what they really needed was divine intervention.
TROMPING UP
the base of Mount Hood and into a possible trap with his mate at his side did nothing to calm Dylan’s wolf. His skin prickled with unease, with the need to shift and protect his mate from whatever unknown force stood between them and their goal: finding Jaden. Dylan still wasn’t convinced Jaden’s disappearance was tied to Avery and this Warren guy. In case this attempt didn’t pan out, Dylan was tapped out and ready to go to the alpha.
“How did you find this place?” Heath asked conversationally.
They’d been climbing the mountain at what felt like a snail’s pace, though thanks to their shifter natures, they all had more endurance than any one human would have. Avery stumbled over a downed birch and Dylan held back a grin as he caught his mate by the elbow. The hedgehog in him showed in more ways than his mediocre night vision. He was quick and intelligent—and clumsy.
Avery huffed and, when righted, pulled his arm from Dylan’s grasp. “Google Maps,” he answered Heath’s question.
The detective stopped in his tracks and Avery squinted at him. “What?” he asked and when Heath didn’t budge, he sighed. “I told you. Sven told me he had a cabin in the mountains. It’s not like Warren hands out invitations printed with the address on it. It wasn’t very difficult to find once I figured out he didn’t keep it in his name. Not very imaginative listing it as company property. It was almost too easy.” Avery pulled out his phone and waved it in Heath’s face. “Google Maps. The navigator app is too loud and I can’t figure out how to shut it up,” he added, then turned around and continued up the mountain.
Heath shook his head, an amused grin twisting his lips. “Your mate’s a piece of work,” he said to Dylan.
Dylan’s smile held more warmth and pride. “He is.”
When Heath groaned, Dylan laughed. And Avery shushed them both. “Jesus Christ,” he barked in a whisper. “You’d think neither of you’d ever been on a stakeout. Shut your mouths and walk.” He pointed to his phone. “We’re almost there.”
Rolling his eyes, Dylan did as he was bid, Heath snickering behind.
He’d been so distracted by the interlude that he almost failed to recognize a familiar scent blowing on the breeze to him.
Jaden.
When he spun around, he found Heath frozen, his head cocked to the side in a very canine fashion and his nostrils flaring. In a blur, Heath lunged forward, and Dylan barely had time to react.
Placing himself in the path of a frenzied Heath, Dylan planted his feet and caught the wolf in the middle, tackling him to the ground. Heath wasn’t stronger than Dylan, but he did have speed on him. When Heath snarled and grappled for the upper hand, Dylan deflected each attempt but not without working for it. He couldn’t blame Heath. He’d been the same when Avery had gone missing last year.
“Stop it,” Avery hissed, annoyance grinding in his voice.
Either Heath didn’t hear him or didn’t want to because he kept struggling, so obviously determined to get to his mate. That’s when Avery stomped over to him and smacked him on the back of the head hard enough to sting.
Heath stilled in surprise, his eyes shooting wide. “What?”
“Get a grip, asshole.” Avery glared down at him, his hands on his hips. “If you smell Jaden, it means he’s here or he’s at least been here. What good are you to him if you rush in there and get yourself killed? You’re a detective, dick. You know this.”
Dylan watched as Heath pieced those words together in his head and nodded. Switching his focus to Dylan, he shoved. “Get off me.”
They stood and Dylan watched Avery creep a few feet away. From his viewpoint, in the darkness of the forest, Dylan glimpsed a large clearing, a small cabin situated in the center. He followed Avery to the edge, still hidden by the large old trees, and two things caught Dylan off guard. First, whatever he had been expecting from Warren Harting, the shipping mogul bear shifter, it wasn’t the small cabin situated in the center of the clearing. It was almost too plain compared to what he’d seen of how the man lived and worked when they’d attempted to track him down earlier. The log cabin was sedate, an almost boring hideaway.
The second thing was that it was quiet. Too much so. June in the mountains promised a multitude of natural surprises, yet he heard no birds chirping, no buzzing bugs, and no animals creeping through the underbrush. It was as if this part of the mountain knew there was a predator in their midst and they didn’t want to wake the beast.
“What’s the plan?” Dylan turned to look at Avery. He’d underestimated his mate. He could admit that. Avery was brave and passionate, and Dylan trusted no one the way he trusted his mate. Looking to Avery for leadership in this situation felt right, instinctual.
For a fraction of a second, Avery beamed at him. “Oka—”
The back door of the cabin slammed open and a large, burly animal of a man sauntered onto the patio. Warren Harting, Dylan presumed. Dylan knew Warren’s vision wouldn’t be much better by night than by day, as was typical of bear shifters. Hidden as Dylan and the others were amid the darkness of aging trees and thick underbrush, he was sure the bear couldn’t see them, but he could tell Warren knew where they were.
“Avery Babineaux,” he boomed in a resounding bass that filled the empty night air. “I know you’re out there, hedgehog. I have something… or rather a couple somebodies you want. If you’d like to see your little redheaded friend or my sweet Lacey alive again, you’ll offer yourself up in trade. Your ass for theirs.” His laugh sent Dylan’s gut roiling. “You have an hour.”
With that said, Warren strolled back into the cabin and closed the door behind him.
The ultimatum was given in the span of seconds, and it changed everything. At Dylan’s side, Avery stood, frozen. On his face a mixture of shock, guilt, and confusion, but he didn’t lose his head like Dylan thought he would. Sure, Dylan could read the pain and need to save the day in his eyes. He felt it through their bond. But when Avery stared up at him, Dylan was captivated by the fierce determination in his eyes.
“I won’t tell you not to go in there,” Dylan said, and the corners of Avery’s mouth tilted up.
“Good, because I’m going.”
“He won’t trade,” Heath cut in, sounding distracted.
“I know. Fuck,” Avery swore, his gaze switching to Dylan. “‘My sweet Lacey,’ that’s what he said, right? I’m not losing my mind, am I? What does that mean? How does he know about her? Has he had her the entire time? How does he even know I’ve been looking for her?” His eyes got big, the whites shining in the dark. “Sven?” He shook his head. “No. It’s not something we ever talked about.”
“Hey.” Dylan took him by the shoulders. “Slow down for a minute. Take a breath.”
“You’re right.” Clear eyes met Dylan’s. “It doesn’t matter how he knows whatever he knows. I’m not sure what he wants with me, but I’m going to do what it takes to get Jaden and Lacey back.”
The look Heath landed on him was half grateful and half envious. And not for the first time, Dylan wondered at Heath’s history. He’d worry about that later.
Dylan nodded.
“It’s the only way to get them back.” Avery swiped at the sheen of tears wetting his eyes. “I can’t believe….” He cleared his throat and held his shoulders back. “No, not right now. We’re going in, okay?”
“Yeah, okay,” Dylan answered, then pulled Avery to him. “But you better do what I tell you when I tell you, because if you get hurt, so help me God, I will lock you in the basement and throw away the key.”
Burying his face in the crook of Avery’s neck, Dylan had the biggest desire to mark his mate. They had no inkling what waited for them beyond the cabin doors. All Dylan did know was that Warren and whoever sat inside the house wanted his mate for whatever reason. Dylan wasn’t ready to let him go. Ever. He rasped his stubble over Avery’s face from neck to temple, painting him with their combined scent. When Dylan was assured no one would mistake to whom Avery belonged, he dragged his tongue over his mating bite. Avery shivered, bringing a smile to his lips.
“For the love of God, are you two finished?” Heath groused.