“No, not yet.” And the guy must know this from his own half brother. “Actually, it might be worth going over this with you again. When you were in the prison camp, do you have any memory of the Command talking about where the new location was going to be? Or anybody discussing it? Like some of the guards, maybe?”
The question had been asked before, but you never knew what someone would recall out of the blue—and V was getting desperate.
Not in a good way.
The story of how the aristocrat had ended up in that cesspool had been a bummer. The Jackal had been framed for deflowering a virgin and sent up the proverbial river for life. Destiny had given him a way out, however, as well as one helluva jackpot in his female. But the shit he’d been through lingered—you could tell by the shadows in those baby blues.
“No, I’m sorry.” The Jackal stared across his tray of ultra-processed dopamine releasers. “I don’t remember that female talking about it—and I’ve been racking my mind. As you know, she and I had… well, we had a certain tie. But I didn’t spend much time with her.”
Certain tie = they’d had a son. Except that didn’t need to be said out loud, if the guy wasn’t comfortable remembering who his offspring’smahmenhad been. And who could blame him.
“It’s okay.” V took a sip of his coffee. “Maybe something will come to you later.”
Refocusing on the TV, he watched the reporter motion to the store behind him again and he had to wonder what had been stolen. Certainly not computer equipment. The business looked like the kind of place where receipts were still written out by hand and prices were punched into a cash register that didn’t require electricity.
V cleared his throat. “We just need some kind of break in the case, so to speak. Pardon my Columbo.”
“I want to be in if you find anything.”
Ah, V thought. So this was the why of the meeting.
When he didn’t respond, the Jackal tore the wrapper off a Snickers bar, but he didn’t bite the thing. He used it as a pointer, angling the chocolate-covered hangry-cillin at V. “Those males and females in there… I was one of them. They were the only people in my life for a very long time. I want to be part of their liberation.”
“You’ve mentioned this before.”
There was a pause, and then the Jackal said, “That’s not anywhere near an I’ll-call-you.”
“Will you look at the time.” V got to his feet with his coffee. “I’ll see you later.”
“I’ve earned the right to help with the evacuation.”
“Is that why you texted me? Like I’m a gatekeeper or something.”
“You’re the holdout. Everybody else wants me there.”
Oh, so there’d been a vote taken. Great.
“At this point”—V turned away—“I have absolutely no idea how we’re going to find the place. So it’s a moot fucking point.”
“I know who is a prisoner and who’s a guard. I know the way the place works.”
V glanced back. “Unfortunately, I think it’s going to be very obvious who is who and not because the latter are wearing uniforms. And you know the way theoldplace works. You don’t know shit about the new location, starting with where it is. You’re well-intended, but you’re untrained, unexperienced, and you have a son and now ashellanwho need you. I get the loyalty, but I can’t get behind the risk assessment. Sorry.”
Leaving the male to sort the Cheetos from the Cheerios, V walked back out into the corridor before he said something he was going to feel slightly bad about—and then get really annoyed he was wasting any energy on regretting. Goddamn civilians. Always with the bright ideas.
But whatever, he was not about to jeopardize his own life or the lives of his brothers just to help the Jackal through his survivor’s guilt.
That was a burden the guy was going to have to put down on his own.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
The element of surprise could work as one hell of a preemptive strike.
As Kane stepped free of the hunting cabin, he didn’t hesitate, not even for a second. He dematerialized directly onto the guard who’d just gotten out of the passenger seat, and he bit the bastard on the side of the face.
The instant he struck, the male screamed, and as Kane jerked back, he took the skin and meat of the cheek with him. Spitting everything out, he shoved the guard to the ground and jumped up onto the roof of the vehicle—just as the driver emerged from the interior.
A gun swung up and sent a bullet Kane’s way, but as he somersaulted over the other male’s head, he was a target missed. He landed hard in his borrowed boots, grabbed the guard’s head from behind, and yanked back. As balance was lost, more gunshots went off toward the sky, and Kane caught the wrist that controlled the weapon. With a vicious snap, he broke the forearm bones, and when the screaming started, he took that gun.