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“Well now, that went well.” Rule moved from the side of the stone tower, thoughtful amusement creasing his expression as he too watched Cat run back to the house Lobo Reever was letting her use.
What did Reever owe Gideon that he was willing to risk breaking the agreement he had with the Bureau of Breed Affairs to protect him?
Jonas had no doubt he’d figure it out, just as he’d figure out exactly what Rule Breaker, his new division director and one of his closest friends, owed that insane bag of Bengal genetics as well.
“No, actually, that did not go well. But I had no delusions it would.” He sighed, striving to be as honest with Rule as he’d always been.
After all, in the years they’d fought together this was the only instance he’d found where he couldn’t entirely trust Rule. For some reason, whatever the Breed knew about Gideon or his whereabouts, he refused to divulge.
Jonas could understand that. There were a lot of secrets Rule and his brother would probably kill him for keeping if they were aware of it. It was an exchange, he thought wearily. Not an exchange he liked, but even if Rule revealed his knowledge, Jonas knew he’d never reveal his own secrets until he had no other choice.
“What now?” Rule questioned as though only curiosity was the reason for the question.
“I’ll tell Rachel she was wrong.” He shrugged. “That girl knows where Gideon’s hiding. She knows far more than she’ll willingly give anyone, even someone she trusts.”
But she was still Gideon’s weakness. Threaten Cat and he’d come out and play. It wasn’t a move Jonas was willing to make quite yet, though. For now, there was information to collect.
For one, the role Reever played in all this. For another, the role Rule was taking in the intricate game playing out between Gideon and Jonas. And third, the fact that he knew Reever’s stepdaughter was somehow involved as well. The list he’d acquired of Gideon’s ties in the Breed community was surprising.
Gideon had a very well-hidden, though very powerful, group of individuals willing to help him, and Jonas wanted to know how one completely insane, violently vicious Breed had managed it. It was a trick Jonas needed to figure out in order to reveal everyone involved in this little conspiracy.
“Have you found the recessed Breed, Judd, yet?” Jonas asked as they moved around the tower to the Dragoon they’d driven out just before Cat left for her run.
“I don’t even have a list of suspects, Jonas.” Rule wasn’t happy with that either. He was actually pretty frustrated over the fact, if his senses were correct, Jonas mused.
“I want a list of suspects by the week’s end,” Jonas ordered. “This can’t continue.”
“I’m not one of your enforcers,” Rule batted back.
Jonas noted that the level of confidence the Breed had acquired had become a serious problem lately. Not that Jonas intended to do anything about it. Not that he could do anything if he tried. At least, not a lot.
“Then have one of your enforcers take care of it,” Jonas snapped back at him. “This is a Western Division problem, Rule. You’re the division director. So fucking take care of it. And take care of it by week’s end.”
Swinging into the Dragoon, he glared through the windshield, biting back a furious curse. Protecting Gideon was a laudable cause, and he would have helped at any other time. But protecting him wasn’t an option now.
“Where to now? Back to her house?” Rule asked as he slid into the driver’s seat.
Forcing himself to appear relaxed, he turned to Rule slowly.
“A hypothetical question,” he stated. “In my place, what would you do if you knew one seemingly unique Breed wasn’t so unique? That something had only triggered what you suspect other Breeds had been coded with? Breeds whose triggers could be far more sensitive?”
Rule stared back at him impassively for long moments before answering the question.
“The same thing humans do when they realize some psychopath’s triggers are far more sensitive than others. Or some sociopaths are so intelligent that they may never be found,” he finally said with a sigh. “We’re not just Breeds, Jonas. We’re part human, part animal and something in between that can’t be defined. Each day we’re free is a gift. When that gift is taken we may well need the monsters to ensure our survival.”
“So we allow Gideon free rein?” he asked, knowing that wasn’t possible.
“My take?” Rule asked. “Or is that a rhetorical question?”
Sometimes this Breed was far too smart for his own good as well. Of course, that was why Jonas had maneuvered him into the position of division director.
“Your take.” Jonas nodded.
“None of us have free rein.” Turning from him, Rule activated the Dragoon as Jonas narrowed his gaze on him, waiting. He knew more was coming.
“Free rein is the same fairy tale, where Gideon’s concerned, as free will and freedom are mirages where the Breeds are concerned,” Rule bit out, obviously not pleased with the conclusions he’d come to on the subject of freedom. “If I were in your place, I’d give him the mirage of freedom, though. The same fairy tale we give ourselves. It creates a debt, a favor owed. He’s given the lie that he can live his life and make his own decisions, and he gives us the lie that we have his loyalty. Then when it all goes to hell and we find public opinion our enemy rather than our strength, we call in our favors and give the monsters the truth of free rein. It may be all that saves some of us at that point.”
The Dragoon shot from parked to full speed in a matter of seconds, racing across the desert as the Breed behind the controls watched the terrain with a hard, almost bleak expression. One Jonas studied with narrowed eyes as he let the visions of all that surrounded this Breed filter through his senses.
