Savage Hunger: Savage, Book 1 (17 page)

“Yes, unfortunately I was forced to kill him,” Warrick admitted flatly. “Do you think I wanted to kill one of my kind? The wolf was feral and he damn near killed Sienna. I won’t apologize for stopping him. Or for healing Sienna before she could die in my arms.”

Quinton’s leathered skin almost seemed to pale, but his eyes showed no emotion and his mouth tightened as he asked, “Do you have witnesses to the wolf’s attack?”

“Hilliard and Rafferty should’ve seen it.”

“They will need to be interviewed.”

“Of course.”

“And you’ll need to stand trial before the elders.”

“I expected nothing less.”

Quinton stared at him for a moment longer, then shook his head. “You don’t want to involve yourself with a human, Donovan. It’s none of my business, but—”

“You’re right. What’s between Sienna and me
is
none of your business.” Warrick took a step toward the older man, done being complacent. Having had nothing but respect for him in the past, the resentment brewing in his gut now was sharp and untried. “And you should probably try to remember that.”

Quinton’s expression darkened and he looked like he wanted to say something, but then his mouth snapped shut and he gave a terse nod.

“Time to interview Miss Peters. HQ wants a report by ten hundred.”

Good luck getting anything out of her
. Warrick waited for the other man to leave before getting dressed and making his way to the kitchen.

The sight that greeted him sent a wave of amusement through him. Quinton stood scowling down at the bowl of Fruit Loops on the table, while Sienna stood behind him looking pleased as all get out.

“What?” she asked innocently, her pale blue eyes sparkling with mischief. “You said fix you breakfast. This should do.”

Quinton picked up the bowl and dumped it in the garbage. “Maybe if I was a damn squirrel.”

“Hmm. No, I’m pretty sure it’s safe to guess you’re a wolf.” Sienna murmured in a sarcastic, saccharine tone. Her gaze slid around the room to all the agents who stood by watching in amusement. “Just like every last one of you in this room.”

Warrick watched her in fascination. She wasn’t afraid of them. Seemed almost defiant and irritated. She hadn’t had a panic attack since watching the news coverage about the fire, which was surprising with the multiple incidents that should’ve easily set her off.

She was so damn beautiful. And he’d wager every man in that room knew it too. Her blonde hair was still wet, falling in unbrushed waves around her shoulders. The gray T-shirt she wore hid her small breasts, but the cotton shorts showed off too much pale, shapely leg. She looked younger than she was, vulnerable, and yet with a surprising strength that no one seemed to have expected.

“You’re right, Miss Peters,” Quinton finally replied with a casual shrug. “Myself and all the agents before you are wolves. It’s a requirement to be an agent for the P.I.A.”

“But not to work for them apparently. My father is human and seems pretty damn enfolded in your little community.” There was a hint of bitterness in her voice now.

“Yes. Your father is and always has been a valuable asset to our organization.” Quinton glanced away, toward the door. “Let’s take a walk, Miss Peters.”

Warrick stepped forward, but Quinton shook his head and held out his hand to halt his advance.

“I would like this time alone with Sienna. We will be back within the hour.”

Dammit.
Tension coiled through Warrick’s muscles as he watched the unease flare in Sienna’s eyes. She turned her gaze to him and there was a blatant plea that he insist on coming with her. That he not allow Quinton to take her off alone.

His jaw flexed and he bit his tongue to resist the immediate protest that rose to his lips. Quinton wouldn’t hurt her. Warrick was 100 percent confident of that fact. He had absolutely no right to protest the man’s decision. Quinton pulled rank on everyone in this room. Including the alpha.

You’ll be all right, Sienna.
He tried to silently convey the message in his gaze and gave her a reassuring semblance of a smile and brief nod.

Her mouth tightened and frustration flickered in her eyes, before she reluctantly took the arm that Quinton held out for her.

Warrick watched them leave the safe house, the tension inside him only increasing. She would be fine. He knew it. But it sure as hell didn’t give him any peace of mind.

How in the hell could Warrick send her off alone with this jerk?

As she allowed Agent Quinton to lead her outside, Sienna’s shoulders were so stiff that tension radiated up her neck and began a slow pounding in her head.

With her free hand, she pressed her fingers against her temples and briefly closed her eyes.

“Are you feeling all right, Miss Peters?”

“I’m fine,” she said tersely, snapping her eyes open once more and staring ahead at the path they now followed. “But let me just be up-front and say I don’t want any bullshit chitchat. Just ask me outright what you want to know.”

Quinton laughed softly and released her arm. “I’m enjoying your directness. Will you be as forthcoming with your answers?”

“I’ll let you take a wild guess on that one,” she muttered and stepped a few inches away from him.

Why the hell she felt so rebellious, God only knew. This man was only doing his job, and Warrick apparently respected the man quite a bit. But she didn’t particularly care for the harsh, bullish attitude he put on.

If she’d hoped to throw him with her response, she was out of luck. His laughter just grew, seeming even more genuine now.

“You have more than just appearance in common with your mother, it would seem.”

Sienna stumbled on the trail as her pulse quickened. She shot Quinton a quick glance. “You knew my mother?”

“Yes. I met her when she first moved to Boston with your father. I was sorry to hear of her death.” Even though his expression remained passive, something flickered in his eyes.

Sienna felt a familiar tension slide through her muscles, the same tension that came when someone brought up her mother. “It was ten years ago. I barely think about her anymore.” And it was true, though when she did, it always left a sadness that weighed heavily on her heart.

“Really?”

“Well, most of my memories of her weren’t exactly white-picket-fence material. She and Dad were always fighting, and I know she struggled with depression.”
And why the hell did I just tell him that?
Sienna blinked in dismay, shaking her head as she quickened her stride. “Anyway, you didn’t come out here to question me about my mother, I’m sure. I know you have questions for me.”

“Yes. I do,” he murmured, and shook his head, as if gathering his thoughts once more.

“But hang on a minute. First, I have one for you that I’d like you to answer honestly.”

Quinton glanced at her, his gaze wary. “Can’t make any promises.”

Of course he couldn’t, but he expected honesty from her? Sienna bit back a harsh laugh and stared ahead up the trail. The sound of rushing water hit her ears about the same time she saw the glimmer of a river.

“What kind of punishment will Warrick face for killing that shifter?”

“You want the truth? I don’t know.”

“How can you not know?” she demanded sharply, digging her heels in and coming to a stop. “I hear you’re like a god within the damn shifter community.”

“A god, hmm?” His lips quirked and he folded his arms, staring down at her analytically. “I’m no god. I’ve just been around awhile. Some of the agents look up to me, but I’m nothing to write home about.”

“Warrick considers you a damn icon.”

“Does he now? Well, maybe I am. But what I’m not is an elder. And the elders are who Warrick is going to have to face once we get this mess straightened out.”

“Me being the mess?”

“You and the feral shifters.”

Sienna gave a small nod and drew in a deep breath of the forest and river beyond, letting the peace of the environment calm her nerves a bit. Give her courage.

“What kind of punishment could the elders pass down to him?”

Quinton made a slight shrug. “He could lose his position with the P.I.A. There’s always banishment from the shifter community. Possibly death, but I don’t think it would go that far.”

Death? The world around her tilted and bile rose sharply in her throat. She wasn’t aware of her knees giving out until Quinton grabbed her with a curse and halted her ungraceful advance to the ground.

“Dammit, girl, get ahold of yourself. I said I didn’t think it would go that far.”

“But it
is
a possibility,” she pointed out. Her stomach roiled and she moved away from Quinton again, plunging through the trees toward the river.

Images flickered through her head. Horrifying ones she couldn’t even begin to emotionally handle. When she reached the water’s edge she knelt down to cup the cool liquid in her hands. Splash it across her face.

The crunching of footsteps on the rocks behind her warned of Quinton’s approach.

“Warrick says the shifter would’ve killed you. The elders will take that into consideration when they put him on trial.” He placed a hand on her shoulder, his tone softening. “You have to understand that we must value shifter life above human life. There are too few of us left not to.”

Sienna closed her eyes and shook her head, which had begun to pound. “If they kill him there’ll be one less shifter.”

“Which is why I said I don’t think a death punishment will be handed down.” Quinton hauled Sienna to her feet and spun her around.

His hard gaze was devoid of sympathy or any gentle emotion. She must’ve imagined the kindness in his tone a moment ago, and her throat tightened with wariness.

“Now, Miss Peters, I’ve answered your questions. It’s time you start answering mine. What is your relationship with Feloray Laboratories?”

She would answer until she couldn’t any longer. “I’m an employee there.”

“And what was your reason for being in the lab the other night?”

Sienna continued almost on auto. “I was going to free the shifters.”

God, this conversation sounded familiar. It was practically a cookie cutter of the one she’d had with Warrick.

Quinton tilted his head. “So you
were
aware of what was happening to the shifters?”

“No!” She avoided his gaze, bit her lip, and clenched and unclenched her hands. “Okay, yes, but not until the day I went to free them. Once I realized that they were being held and what was being done—”

“How did you realize, Miss Peters? From what it would seem, the shifters experiment was not common knowledge at the laboratory. It was being conducted in an abandoned building on Feloray Laboratories property.”

“Does that automatically mean the lab was the one responsible for it?” she asked to stall him, and turned away to face the river again, her mind scrambling about how to answer his last question.

Could he tell she was hiding things? God, she was trying not to be totally obvious.

The sound and sight of the blue water rushing over itself momentarily entranced her and for a moment she was tempted to take the last few steps to the river’s edge and jump in. Let the current drag her downstream and away from all the harshness of her new reality.

“How did you learn about the shifters, Sienna?”

Leo was dead now. Would it really hurt if she gave Quinton the name of the man who’d handed over the information? But then he’d want to know more. He’d keep digging, discovering things she had no intention of sharing. Like the jump drive.

She still didn’t really know Quinton and couldn’t trust that he wasn’t the one Leo had warned her about. Which meant, God, she hoped like hell she was a convincing liar.

“I stumbled across them.”

Silence met her statement. Her pulse quickened and her palms dampened as she waited for his reply.

“Hmm. Well did you also happen to stumble across whoever it was at Feloray Laboratories that authorized the experiments?” His biting tone clearly indicated he didn’t buy her response.

“No. I haven’t got a clue. Like I just said, how can we even be certain it was even them?” That much was true. Nowhere in Leo’s information had there been any mention of who was behind it. But Quinton was right. The general employee population had been completely unaware of what had been going on within the lab.

Except for Leo. Somehow he’d been caught up in what was happening. Had maybe been involved. Her stomach clenched and a wave of sadness and frustration washed over her. Unfortunately there’d be no more answers coming from him.

The back of her neck prickled and her breath hitched. Unless…unless he’d left some kind of clue she hadn’t been able to decipher on the jump drive. She’d only had a few minutes to scan it—when she’d tried to e-mail it to her dad, but the file was too large. Which was why she’d planned to fly across the country to deliver it in person.

“You’ll understand if I don’t believe you, Sienna. Someone told you about the shifters, didn’t they?” Quinton asked as he approached her once more. “Was it Leonard Perkins?”