“Understood,” Jake said.
He didn’t have a problem working with someone more experienced in the field. He might have been a Navy SEAL and a cop in his former life, but this agent thing was new. Although he couldn’t imagine she’d be thrilled to work for someone so lacking in seniority as far as time in STAT was concerned. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be an issue.
“For reasons we haven’t fully worked out yet, Olivia’s parents are no longer cooperating with the police, which makes it difficult to determine exactly what the current situation is and how these supernaturals are involved,” McKay continued. “It could be a vampire, a werewolf, or something completely different.”
While Jake wasn’t thrilled at the idea of facing more vampires—he’d had his fill of them weeks ago out in Los Angeles—the possibility of going up against other werewolves sucked even worse, and he hoped the supernaturals who’d kidnapped Olivia and butchered those four men were anything other than his own kind.
Across from him, Harley and Caleb looked like they were thinking the same thing.
“When you get to London, you’ll hook up with Jes at the American Embassy, confirm what kind of creatures we’re dealing with, and figure out how to stop them.” McKay looked at each of them in turn. “This goes without saying, but don’t let anyone else know what you’re in the UK for or what you’re doing. The world isn’t supposed to know supernaturals exist, much less that we have some working for the U.S. intelligence community.”
McKay didn’t have to worry about Jake saying anything to anyone. Like most werewolves, he was good at hiding what he was. His gut told him Harley and Caleb were no different.
Jake’s gaze went to the computer screen at the front of the room and the photo of Jestina Ridley again. While his human side was already focused on the importance of the mission, his inner wolf was eager to get to London for a completely different reason—the gorgeous STAT agent he’d be working with.
* * *
Jake sprinted up the steps to the eighth floor of his apartment building. He had thirty minutes to tell the twins where he was going, pack a bag, and catch an Uber to the airport. Taking the stairs was faster than waiting for the elevator.
He yanked open the door to the stairwell, his head still spinning from the mission briefing. In a perfect world, he and his teammates would get to know each other’s strengths and weaknesses before going into the field. Not only was he still figuring out this werewolf thing on a daily basis, but Harley and Caleb were both carrying enough baggage to fill a cargo plane. It was going to take a while for them to become a team, much less a pack.
Then there were Forrest and Misty. McKay had handpicked them for the team, so they must obviously be able to handle themselves. Even so, there was no way to tell how they were all going to gel.
And that wasn’t even counting Jestina. He knew even less about Jes than he did any of his other teammates. Other than that she made his inner wolf sit up and take notice—and that her previous teammates had been killed by a creature that might or might not have been a werewolf.
He cursed as he strode down the hallway. This mission was going to be like a HALO jump from twenty thousand feet—without a parachute.
The door of his apartment was open when he got there. If he hadn’t picked up Zoe’s and Chloe’s scents inside, he would have gone into full-werewolf mode for sure. But their hearts were beating evenly, which meant they were safe.
He was halfway inside when he picked up two other scents that made him stop in his tracks. The twins weren’t alone. There were a couple of guys in there with them. Suddenly, his heart started thumping harder and his fingertips began to tingle, a sure sign his claws were about to make an appearance.
Jake hadn’t lost control of his inner werewolf for a long time, but right then, he had the urge to kill someone—slowly.
He strode through the entryway, his boots as silent on the tile as they were on the carpet of the adjoining living space. Zoe and Chloe were standing side by side in the middle of the room, their long, straight, platinum-blond hair practically floating in the gentle breeze of the air-conditioning. Identical twins, they were tall, slender, and graceful. His anger faded as he realized the girls were fine.
Although the twins were half turned away from him, Jake had no doubt they knew he was home. Even if they hadn’t yet caught a glimpse of him out of the corners of their eyes, they would have undoubtedly picked up his scent. Then again, betas were attuned to their alphas in ways beyond the normal senses. It was just as likely they’d known he was home before he’d walked into the apartment building.
Neither girl turned to look at him. But that was because they were too busy staring at the two guys on the other side of the room, moving furniture. A few years older than the twins, both men had dark hair and wore jeans and T-shirts.
“I think it needs to go a little more to the left,” Zoe said, motioning for the guys to move the couch they’d been patiently holding a foot off the floor.
The two men shifted the couch to the side as directed, then looked at the twins expectantly.
“How about that?” the wirier-built guy asked.
This time, it was the usually shy, reserved Chloe who answered. “A little to the right again.”
Not that the girls seemed to be paying any attention to the actual position of the leather sofa. Instead, their focus was on the flexing, bulging biceps of the two men.
Jake groaned silently. He had four older brothers but had always thought it would be cool to have a younger sister or two. Now that he had them, he realized maybe it’d been a good thing he didn’t have sisters when he was growing up. Something told him he would have ended up in a lot of fights.
“The couch looks good right where it is,” Jake said firmly, walking into the room. The sofa was one of the last pieces of furniture they’d been waiting to get delivered. “I’m sure these guys have someplace they’d much rather be than moving furniture for two eighteen-year-old girls.”
Jake might have been talking to the girls, but he was looking straight at the two men, who went pale beneath their tans at the expression on his face. As one, they set the couch down.
“Oh hey, Jake.” Flipping her hair over her shoulder, Zoe turned to give him a smile. “We didn’t hear you come in.”
Yeah right.
“This is Austin Dunn and Colt Holland,” Chloe said, mirroring her twin’s smile. “They both work with us at the FBI and were nice enough to come help with the furniture that was delivered today. We didn’t even have to twist their arms.”
Jake resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Chloe was scary smart, but sometimes he worried about how naive she could be. She had to know why these two guys had jumped at the chance to help her and Zoe. And it wasn’t to get out of chasing down forgers or whatever they did at the FBI.