Tanner refilled his own glass, sipping this time rather than downing the liquor. It was harder to think; the mating heat was building inside him, the glands at his tongue becoming sensitive again. It wouldn’t be long before he had to have her again, before the heat became so blinding that nothing mattered but fucking her.
“How did Jonas react to her disappearance?” The answer was there somewhere; he could feel it.
“Every available Breed Enforcer as well as recruits are searching for her,” Cabal said softly. “He’s pulled Breeds off imperative missions and sent them looking for this woman instead. ”
“How did he know she was here?” Tanner narrowed his eyes on his brother.
Cabal grunted mockingly. “With Jonas, who the hell knows? I followed the second half of Alpha Team out here as fast as I could. It just took me a while to shake a few shadows I had before coming here. ”
Tanner stared back at him questioningly.
“Callan refuses to tell Jonas where you’re at. I think he suspects where you are, but he’s possessive of the knowledge of these caves. ”
Callan would be. It was their last sanctuary if things went from sugar to shit for the Breeds and the children born of matings needed to be concealed. The information was so closely guarded that besides Cabal and a Wolf Breed—Dash Sinclair—no one outside Callan’s original pride knew of it.
“Have you talked to Callan?” Tanner asked.
“Let’s say Callan talked to me,” Cabal snorted. “He’s worried, Tanner. Her death is being placed at the door of the Breeds. You can’t keep her here forever and you know it. ”
“I will protect her,” Tanner snapped with a primal rasp. “Nothing can happen to her. ” The animal rose to the surface, beating at his brain with the imperative demand.
“Do you have a plan?” Cabal asked.
Tanner’s sharp laugh was mocking. “Plan? Since I pulled her out of D. C. I haven’t been able to figure out anything except how many different ways I need to fuck her. ”
He swiped his fingers through his hair again in frustration.
“If we take her to Sanctuary, then the spy Tallant has there will stop at nothing to kill her,” Tanner said. “I can’t keep her locked up forever. ”
“It could be the only way to flush Tallant’s spy out,” Cabal pointed out.
Tanner growled. For once, the animal didn’t have to push to the surface; the man was there and he wasn’t pleased with that suggestion.
“You said you can’t keep her locked up forever, Tanner,” Cabal bit out. “What other choice do we have here? The only way to ensure her safety is to get her to Sanctuary and flush that bastard out. ”
“We have no idea the direction he would take in attacking her,” Tanner snapped. “Every Breed on the place is armed to the teeth. I won’t take that chance. Even if she had something we could use to take Tallant out, it wouldn’t be enough. His spy wouldn’t stop until Scheme was dead. ”
“We need that spy, Tanner,” Cabal growled.
Tanner’s hand flashed out, wrapping around his brother’s throat, tightening as Cabal stilled.
“You will not risk my mate,” he snarled, leaning closer for emphasis. “Not now. Not ever. ”
Cabal never broke his gaze. “Do you think I would risk your mate unduly?” he retorted. “No more than you would mine. But keeping her here forever won’t work. You know that as well as I do. Use your head here instead of your heart. ”
Tanner jerked his hand back before rising abruptly and pacing the room. He couldn’t do it. If he took her to Sanctuary, he couldn’t protect her. There was no way to protect her.
“Tanner, there’s no other choice. ” Cabal rose, facing him. “If we don’t show proof that she’s alive, everyone will suspect the Breeds of having killed her. Bringing her to Sanctuary and holding a press conference we can control, assuring the world of her safety and her protection against the monster that tortured her, will only aid our cause. Striking against your wife will afford Tallant the same consequences as striking against you. ”
The world loved Tanner Reynolds. It was set in stone. He was the face of the Breeds, the laughing, easygoing playboy. Would it protect his mate, to the world, his wife?
They knew orders had gone through the Council as well as Tallant’s organization that due to public sentiment for him, no strikes were to be made against him. It was amusing sometimes, watching the Council agents that often trailed him, the hatred on their faces, their need for blood restrained.
“It wouldn’t stop them,” he said softly. “They would kill her. She knows too much. ”
“Do you have a choice?” Cabal asked.
“I’ll find my own choices, dammit,” he snarled, his fists clenching as pain raged through him. “I won’t let them take her from me. Not now. Not knowing what that bastard has done to her over the years. ”