Mav hummed. “Well, they aren’t running Project Night Moon; they’re definitely for hire. Not loyal to any one place or thing or government. But what I could uncover suggests there’s about fifty or so members, and roughly half of those have earned their tattoos.”
“Shit.” I grimaced. This was much larger in scale than I’d realized. I looked down at the file, squinting a bit at the first pages.
“They’re not all stateside,” Mav rumbled, offering me a half-smile. “They’re all over the world. And there are brothers at the head of this. It’s deeply embedded, though, this thing, so I couldn’t do too much digging without alerting the agency.”
The agency? What does that mean?
I closed the file and gave a small nod. “I appreciate any help at all.” It was more than I could hope for, and I certainly didn’t want the man getting in trouble, especially not when we’d been estranged for the last nine or so years.
“Of course,” Mav replied, humming again. “If it helps at all, I do think the facility is in or near Austin. If the majority of wolves are going missing here, it would be too dangerous to risk transporting them long distances, especially over state lines.”
I nodded. “That does help. It helps a lot. We could really narrow down our search.”
He paused for a moment, an emotion I didn’t recognize flickering over his face. “I’m meeting with Hawk later this afternoon.”
“Who?”
Mav huffed. “A member of the Raven Brothers.”
“What?Why?” I demanded, the skin on the back of my neck prickling.
He shrugged. “They only take ex-special forces in their ranks. You need more information, and that’s how I can get it.”
“Mav.” I didn’t know what else to say. I was stunned he’d put himself on the line like that. My wolf stirred, growling softly, something protective rearing up. I couldn’t ask Mav to do that. “That’s way too much. If they catch on to what you’re doing…”
He shrugged, raising a brow. “And if they don’t, then I get a lot more detail. What they’re doing is dangerous for every wolf, Eli. What kind of man would I be if I just left this to you with a ‘good luck, pal?’”
I opened my mouth, but couldn’t find a good comeback. Scowling, I shook my head. “Fine. But tell me where you’re going, and let me know when you’re done. The last thing I need is another disappearing wolf.”
“Okay, Mom,” Mav teased, leaning over to write down his meeting place for me. “I’ll make sure I’m home before curfew, too.”
I hadto stop on my way back to the condo. I hadn’t planned onhuggingMav, but if my father was still planning on coming over, I couldn’t risk him scenting a former Longbow Pack member on me.
Hanging out at a laundromat was hardly ideal, but at least I had something to wear over me while picking up a breakfast sandwich nearby. If I hadn’t told my father I was at a meeting, I’d have just picked something from Goodwill, but…
Oh well.
When I arrived, I realized both Nic and Remus were inside waiting for me. Part of me regretted sharing my key, but I said nothing of it, joining them in the kitchen.
“How was your meeting?” my father asked.
I gave him a small smile. “Fine.”
He nodded at the folder. “Looks like it wasn’t a client, hm?”
My smile became brittle. “It was a contact,” I admitted, flipping open the file to share. “I’ve gotten some more details on Project Night Moon.”
“Who was your contact?” Remus asked, raising a brow.
I shook my head. My father growled under his breath, but said nothing else. “He was able to get some intel on the Raven Brothers as well. Turns out they’re more international. Almost fifty members.”
Remus inhaled sharply, but my father wouldn’t let it go. “Exactly how many military contacts do you have, Eli?”
I scowled. My contacts were, frankly, none of his business. “Does it matter?”
“It’s him, isn’t it?”
This time, I growled at him. “You know I’m not going to answer that.” I would never put Mav at risk like that, and I didn’t want to put my father in that position, either. I didn’t want to know what he would do.