Chapter 9

Alec - Charleston

By the time I called Donovan, I was well and truly pissed. I had to make a conscious effort not to take it out on him.

"The name Sam gave me was a mule, Donovan. I had to spend like Rachel in Vegas to get it, but I've got the name of the guy behind the operation. Fredric Sergen."

"I'll run the name past our contacts in the southeast, sir. We're particularly thin east of the Mississippi obviously, but I should be able to get something back for you in the next half day or so."

"Don't bother. It's as bad as we expected. Sergen runs every type of drug known to man and my bet is he's responsible for the sharp rise in overall crime in the last three years."

Donovan was silent for several seconds as he ran through the logic trees I'd already spent the last few hours considering.

"Sam was pressing very strongly for money. If we cut Sergen off from the capital flow he's used to and put the word out he's experiencing difficulties, it may bring about the kinds of reverses required to bring him down."

"This isn't the kind of thing I'm willing to leave to chance. Brandon funded this guy because we weren't strong enough to keep him from breaking off in the first place. This is our mess and it has to be cleaned up."

Donovan took a deep breath, more in resignation than acceptance. The problem with raising the kind of child that could one day lead a shape shifter pack is that at some point they are the ones deciding what kind of risks they ran.

"I'll contact Alexi. He can have a couple of men there inside of twenty-four hours. It's not a pack matter so there's no reason not to bring in professionals as backup."

"No, Sergen will never let me in sight of him with the kind of backup Alexi will send. I'll have to go in alone. I need you to arrange a withdrawal with a bank down here. A million dollars is about the most that can be carried easily. Do we have that much in liquid funds still available after sweeping up the rest of Brandon's old holdings?"

"Yes. Just barely, but we do have it."

"All right, tell Rachel no crazy shopping trips until I'm back."

"Of course, Master Alec. Please do be careful."

**

Sixteen hours later I had the rented car drop me off in front of a nondescript building down in the harbor area. The driver hadn't even batted an eye when I'd given him the address. I tried not to think too hard about what kind of business Sergen was running at the location; something that was drawing the kind of moneyed clientele in the habit of renting limos, obviously.

Rather than the tattooed thug I was expecting, an attractive thirty-something woman answered the door. I jiggled the titanium briefcase holding the money and she nodded and led me up a series of stairs to a comfortable room which overlooked the inside of the building. The elegant furnishings inside the room were a stark contrast to the gritty industrial building interior visible through the windows.

The hostess waited for me to survey the room and then cleared her throat. "My name is Jenny. While you're here please don't hesitate to let me know of any need you might have. I'll just go check now to see where Mr. Sergen is."

I'd only been sitting for a minute before Jenny returned. "I beg your pardon, Mr…?"

"Worthingfield."

"Ah yes, Mr. Worthingfield. I must apologize, Mr. Sergen has run into some unexpected delays and will be unavailable for the next two hours."

I felt my face tighten up. I could recognize a power play as well as the next person. Sergen was trying to establish who was calling the shots.

"Our appointment was for now. If he's uninterested in honoring our arrangement I can always take my money elsewhere."

The fear that flashed across Jenny's face was immediate and genuine. She was terrified of what would happen to her if I walked out the door without Sergen getting his money.

"Please, sir. I'm sure Mr. Sergen will be along just as soon as he's able. In the meantime I'd like to offer you some entertainment. If you'd like to describe your preferences I'll make sure you have your pick of the girls."

My knuckles tightened on the titanium case. There'd been rumors of underage girls being imported into the area, but I'd hoped even Brandon wouldn't stoop so low.

Jenny cleared her throat, clearly worried at my lack of response, but her pulse and scent told a different story than the disinterested madam worried only about the displeasure of her boss. There was something almost maternal about what I was getting from Jenny, which made what she was doing worse in some ways.

It was all too much. The briefcase handle bent with a groan. I stood and walked over to Jenny, pinning her against the wall by her throat. "I think you actually care for these girls a little, so I don't want to hurt you, but if you scream out or lie to me things will go badly. Where's Sergen?"

Jenny started talking very quickly. Funny how people being kept in line only through fear tend to turn on you the first chance they get. I left her tied up so she couldn't call for help and exited the room.

The cozy suite of rooms I'd been in led directly back into the unfinished interior of the building. Apparently there was another set of rooms on the far side; I just needed to cross the wasteland of post-industrial refuse to get there.

I found the two huge bruisers I'd been expecting earlier outside the room just where Jenny had promised. Sergen apparently had decided to amuse himself while he waited. The closer guy, a huge islander wearing a shoulder holster over his white tank top, stepped forward to block my way.

"No tourists allowed. Turn around and go back the way you came."

"Can't. I have an appointment with Sergen."

"He's busy."

I casually slammed the palm of my hand into his sternum. For all the ease of the motion, it carried enough force to knock him back into the wall in a rain of sheet rock.

I'd already turned towards the second bodyguard, a skinny white guy, but he moved faster than any human I'd ever seen before. I flipped my briefcase into his arm. It hit with a sickening crunch as his gun discharged into the ground at my feet.

I expected the second guard to fold up around his shattered appendage, but he went for his backup gun as he was still falling toward the ground. I could hear footsteps as Sergen's other men on site were alerted by the gunfire.

The guard got a shot off as I kicked him. An awl of fire burned through my side as the guard hit against a concrete pylon.

I gathered up the fallen gun and hit the door to Sergen's room with my shoulder, splintering it as I went through. The room's three occupants were in various states of undress. I ignored the first girl, focusing instead on Sergen and the gun he had pressed up against the second girl's head.

"Who the hell are you?"

The hostage was a slender redhead whose eyes had all but rolled back up inside her head in fear. She was at least a couple of years younger than me and my jaw clenched as I took in the numerous bruises dotting her arms and face.

He was getting jumpy. Only seconds until his men would come flooding into the room, and he was losing his nerve. I only had a heartbeat to decide on a course of action. I let the handgun drop.