“It’s a goddamned wonder a Breed hasn’t killed you yet,” Tanner growled.
“Several have tried. ” Jonas shrugged, staring around the room. “Where is she? Don’t make me go looking for her. ”
“Touch her, cause so much as a flicker of fear to ignite inside her, and I’ll kill you. ” Murderous rage brewed in Tanner’s gut as he stared back at the director of Breed affairs.
Jonas’s lips flattened. “Don’t sign her death warrant here, Tanner. Let’s protect her together. ”
The animal awoke with a roar. Tanner could feel blood pumping through his body, tightening his muscles, sending a surge of adrenaline-laced rage to race through his head.
His head lifted as he stared back at the taller man, not in the least intimidated by Jonas’s six-six frame or the glowering menace in his expression.
“You signed yours,” Tanner rasped, “when you recruited her rather than rescuing her. ”
“It was her decision,” Jonas refuted coolly. “I offered her safety; she chose revenge for the death of her child. You can’t fault her for that. ”
“I don’t care how you’ve excused ignoring a woman’s torture,” he snarled contemptuously. “And neither will the Breed Cabinet when I request asylum for my mate. ”
Jonas’s eyes flickered, his jaw hardening. “I ignored nothing,” he finally retorted. “She never reported it. ”
“She gave her soul for the Breeds,” Tanner hissed. “How old was she when you recruited her, Jonas? Nineteen? Twenty?”
Jonas stared back at him coldly. “She was twenty-two. ”
Tanner’s smile was savage. “A child. You recruited a child, Jonas. One likely already scarred by a father’s torture. A woman you should have sensed needed your help rather than your exploitation. ”
Jonas’s expression never changed. “We do what we have to, Tanner, to survive. ”
“You son of a bitch!” Tanner’s fist flashed out, connecting solidly with Jonas’s jaw and knocking him backward.
A hard lion’s roar left Jonas’s lips as he moved to counterattack, only to draw himself up short, his expression twisting with fury as the enforcers beside him tensed for action.
Cabal stood beside Tanner now, a warning growl echoing in the room as Jonas’s eyes flashed toward him.
“My mate”—restraining the killing rage surging inside him was nearly impossible—“is not a tool to survive. ”
As the words left his throat, his senses exploded with the scent of Scheme, his gaze moving to the doorway as she stepped into it slowly.
She was pale, her dark eyes wide, tortured.
“Unfortunately, that’s exactly what I am,” she said as she faced the six Breed males that had turned to her. “First a tool against the Breeds and now one for them. ”
Her voice sounded calm; her expression was stoic, but Tanner could smell the pain and the fear twisting inside her.
“Not any longer. ” He pushed past Jonas and his enforcers, growling warningly as he tossed Jonas a furious glance.
Tanner pulled her into his arms, sheltering her against his chest as his hands tucked the sheet she had wrapped around herself more firmly about her body.
“You should be sleeping. ” He didn’t want her here, didn’t want her facing Jonas’s cold, hard objectivity. It was the reason he made such an excellent director of a bureau created for the covert operations the Breeds were forced to use to survive.
“No, there will be time to sleep later. ” Her words had his heart jerking in his chest. “It’s time to finish this now. ”
“You’re late. ” She felt the nervous smile trembling on her lips as she faced the director of Breed affairs, the man who had once saved her life, who offered her a chance to destroy the monster haunting her.
She watched as he breathed out heavily, regret flashing in his silver eyes.
“Finding the caves wasn’t easy,” he growled as Tanner’s arms tightened around her. “I knew who you were with. I thought we had time. ”
“And what changed that?” Tanner snapped behind her.