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Breed Law gave the Breeds autonomy in matters of security and enforcement, to a point. Jonas’s arrival made the detainment official; his questioning of the bartender was merely a formality. Notice of punishment, whether it was death or imprisonment, would go before the Bureau tribunal once he had his recommendations completed. That tribunal was twelve members, drawn from the four separate committees that made up the ruling body of the Breeds’ society.
“Jonas isn’t going to get the information we need here,” Del-Rey murmured as they continued to watch. “The city council was in on this, Wolfe.”
“We know that.” Wolfe nodded as Dash Sinclair sat at his other side, eyes narrowed on the interrogation.
From where Anya sat at the side of the small room, she could see each man’s expression. The alpha leader of the Felines had remained silent, but his gray eyes glittered with wrath as he watched.
“Don’t imagine this will be overlooked, Del-Rey,” Dash spoke up then, his voice cold as he watched the interrogation. “Your coya is no less important than the lupina or the prima. We won’t let this go.”
Anya stared at the Wolf Breed, father to the incredible young woman who had argued for Anya’s separation from her mate. Cassandra Sinclair’s father was strong, but that strength was tempered with compassion, though she could sense inside him an awareness that, sometimes, blood had to be spilled.
“We’re going to have to deal with the town before we go much further,” Del-Rey stated. “Raines is running unchecked. In the past days we’ve pulled in enough information on each man to fry them all. My soldiers have found evidence of the drug we’re tracking in Raines’s house as well as four other city council members’ homes. The Coyote Cabinet is convening tonight to prepare a proposal on how to deal with this matter.”
Wolfe glanced over at Anya. “I hear your coya ordered that move while you were healing. None of us considered the women’s bags and wraps that were left there, and the fact that the council members in on this may have stolen those items knowing no one would be there to collect them. It was an ingenious plan.”
Anya’s gaze focused on Del-Rey. Male pride was a tenuous thing; she should have thought of that before having any military plan proposed. As Brim had told her while Del-Rey slept, she should have waited, presented it to the alpha then to the cabinet rather than ordering one of the soldiers to prepare the proposal.
Del-Rey’s lips twitched in amusement as he glanced at her. “She ran Base with the same dedication and commitment that Hope and Faith showed her was her due as they overlooked Haven. I have you to thank for approving the time Hope gave her.”
Anya sniffed at that. Damned manipulating Wolves and Coyotes. A woman didn’t have a chance against them. They even taught their women how to scheme and manipulate. It should be illegal.
She turned her gaze back to the interrogation, barely restraining a yawn as Jonas Wyatt, the badass of the Bureau of Breed Affairs, asked the bartender again who his contact was and how he received his assignments.
“Man, look, I told you,” the bartender sneered. “I ain’t no damned Breed assassin, and if I was, I wouldn’t get caught.”
“You stink of blood, Mr. Coley,” Jonas drawled. “I have your file; I know you better than you know yourself now. You’re one of those disposable little peons. But even peons have information, and you will tell me what I want to know.”
“Or what, you’ll snarl and growl at me?” Ron leaned forward, his arms braced on the table as his pitted face screwed into lines of disgust. “Or you gonna bite me?”
Anya barely saw the blurred movement of Wyatt’s arm. But a second later, claw marks, deep and bloody, swiped down the bartender’s face, and he squealed like a gutted pig and jumped back as far as the chains would allow.
He stared into the two-way mirror, seeing the blood dripping down his face now, the marks that extended over his eye, then below the eye and down the cheek to his jaw.
Anya had never seen anything like it.
“Damn, Wyatt’s getting pissed.” The alpha pride leader stepped closer to the window. They couldn’t see Wyatt’s face, only Coley’s and his was filled with terror now.
“So, are you ready to answer my questions, Mr. Coley?” Jonas’s voice was cool, unfazed as the bartender began to shake in reaction.
Coley’s gaze jerked down to the table and he seemed to pale further. “That’s not possible,” he wheezed at whatever he was looking at.
“Look at me, Mr. Coley.”
Coley’s gaze jerked back to the Bureau director’s face.
“Very good. You will stay on topic, or I’ll make certain the next time I slice you that it goes to the bone, perhaps takes an eye. That’s not a pleasant experience for the victim, and it’s rather messy when I have to do it. I’d prefer not to have to resort to those means. Now, are you willing to give me the information I asked for?”
Coley swallowed tightly. “They said kill the girl. She was that Coyote’s wife or something. Kill her and the Coyotes would start dropping out of that base. We might even be able to get a few back to the Council. I was supposed to have help. There were supposed to be six of us. We were to kill the women first as we made our way out of the ballroom. As many as we could, paying special attention to high-ranking wives or lovers. Kill them, they said, and you break the Breeds’ backs. That’s all I know.”
“Who was your contact?”
Coley shuddered. “I got a kid.” He lifted his eyes, his gaze tortured now.
“Why should I care about your kid?” Jonas asked coldly.
“She’s only thirteen.” He swallowed tightly. “I know things they didn’t know I know. I heard about Breeds. You don’t hurt kids, no matter what. You protect my kid, and I’ll give you information I know you don’t have.”
“Such as?” Jonas asked him.
