Page 83 of The Enforcers: KANE

She’d always thought of them as the wings of the ancestors. Now she knew why.

A voice from across the room said, “I found that in his pocket.” Rachelle looked up, startled. Israel was sitting in a chair across the room, a book in his lap. They were in Kane’s room in his cabin, she realized.

“I didn’t mean to scare you,” Israel said in his quiet voice. “I’ve been here most of the time since we brought you back.”

Rachelle smiled at him. “Thanks,” she said. She held up the coin. “And thanks for saving this.”

“Kane used to hold it through some pretty bad nights, after we left Seattle,” Israel said. “I knew he’d want it back. I thought maybe—holding it would help him now too.”

She nodded, and closed Kane’s fist around the coin again. “Is he okay?”

Israel said, “Our healers say he should be. But he’ll probably be out for another half a day or so.” He hesitated. “I’m supposed to call Jace if either of you wakes up. Are you up for talking to people? I can wait.”

She smiled at him. “Just give me a few minutes to clean up and get dressed, okay? And if someone could get me some food and something to drink, I would be eternally grateful.”

He nodded.

Whoever had put Rachelle to bed had washed the blood off and put her into one of Kane’s enormous t-shirts, but she still felt sticky and her hair was a matted disaster. She went into the bathroom and took a quick shower, then put on another one of Kane’s shirts and some sweatpants that had apparently been left there for her.

That already tired her out. She climbed back into bed just as Jace and Emma arrived at the cabin.

“No, Rafe,” she could hear Jace saying. “We can’t all pounce on them at the same time. And anyway, Kane’s still asleep. You can see him later.”

The sound of Rafe’s protesting voice grew fainter, and Rachelle smiled.

There was a plate of food and a bottle of water on the bedside table, so she cracked the bottle open and grabbed a sandwich. Her mouth was full when Jace and Emma came in the room, followed by Jesse. She tried to swallow quickly.

Jace grinned. “Don’t rush,” he said. “You must be starving. I won’t keep you long. I just wanted to give you a rundown on what’s been happening, so you wouldn’t worry.”

Emma added, “And I wanted to find out your address so someone could go down to town and bring some of your own things back. Nothing sucks more than not having your own underwear.”

Their consideration warmed her. Especially since it was possible they’d destroyed their credibility with the Shifter Council because of her.

She said, “Before you do that, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. I know what you and your pack risked by coming to rescue me, and there are no words to express how much it means to me.”

Jace nodded his acknowledgement. “I couldn’t have stopped them if I’d wanted to,” he said, the corner of his mouth lifting in a half-grin. “Which I didn’t want to, for the record.”

He settled back in his chair. “Anyway, here’s what went down. Selina is dead.”

Rachelle couldn’t be sorry about that.

Jace continued, “The Council informs me that it seems the lab was destroyed from within, possibly when one of the creatures Selina was experimenting on escaped. At her death, the bonds holding her gang to her snapped and they attacked each other.”

Rachelle began to smile. “Did they now,” she said. If that was the official story, then the Silverlake pack was off the hook. Officially, they’d never even been there.

“However,” Jace said, “there was one thing missing from the scene—all the Gen-X data. Apparently, someone stripped the hard drives from the on-site computers and destroyed the backups.”

Rachelle stared at him. All the data gone? “Who took it?”

Jesse, who’d been sitting quietly in the corner, raised his hand. “That would be me,” he said. “Eventually, we’ll turn it over to the Council, once they can prove to us they’ve plugged any leaks and will use it only for the good of shifters.”

“You’re holding the data hostage?” Rachelle squeaked. “What if they just come and take it?”

“Only a couple of trusted representatives know we have it,” Jesse said. “And believe me, I’m negotiating as fast as I can to get rid of it. That shit’s dangerous. But I thought you might be interested in the results of the first round of talks.”

He stood up and brought Rachelle a sheaf of legal documents. She leafed through them. They were headed with her name, Kane’s name, and that of the Silverlake pack. She scanned the pages. Indemnity from prosecution…pardon for unlawful acts committed under duress or coercion…commendation for actions benefitting the community of shifters and contributing to the public safety…

She looked up at Jesse, stunned. “You got all of us off the hook with the Council?”