So Far Gone in You(Primal Heat 2)(40)

A growl rumbled up Talyn’s chest when his phone vibrated. He kept the gun aimed with one hand as he pulled his cell free with the other. It was a text, but Talyn didn’t recognize the number.

Since I got fucked with my pay, your boys r @ the old Winsted paper mill.

Was this some sick prank? Talyn tried to call the phone number attached to the text, but the phone must have been shut off. It went straight to voice mail.

“Is Gabriel all right?” Zach asked.

“It wasn’t from him,” Talyn answered. He glanced down at Samson, who had passed out. Talyn left Samson to drown in his own misery and led his men outside before telling them about the text.

“It’s a trap,” Quad Cash said in a casual, lazy tone. “Why would they take Coop and Karidon, only to tell us where they are?”

“The guy said he got stiffed on his pay,” Jake Holliman pointed out. “Revenge?”

“Maybe,” Talyn said. They hadn’t gotten anywhere in Riverside. The text was the only lead Talyn had He just hoped they weren’t wasting their time. “We’re going to check it out.”

The paper mill was a good forty-five minutes away. Hopefully, whoever had sent the text wouldn’t change their mind and decide to take the nonpayment out on Coop and Karidon.



* * * *



Coop groaned and tried to focus when a sliver of light appeared on the wall next to the door. Someone was coming into the room. His mind was befuddled as he held his breath, hoping it was Olin. What he wouldn’t give to see those green eyes right now, to feel Olin’s soft touch as the man ran his fingers through Coop’s hair, bringing him comfort, telling Coop that everything would be okay.

He could almost feel Olin curled next to him, whispering and laughing softly, telling Coop about his parents, sharing those memories as he and his bonded mate shared their lives together.

“Coop?”

The word slipped into his mind and rattled around. Coop fought past the murky haze, fought to clear his mind. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been drugged, but it had to have been a while because he was no longer floating along. He was freefalling back down to earth. “Is me,” he slurred.

“Goddamn, Coop. What did they do to you?”

The sound of the door squeaking fully open filled Coop’s ears. Footsteps approached.

“Get the hell away from me,” Coop snarled as he fought to get free. If he was about to die, then he was going down fighting—as much as he could since he was bound to the metal frame.

“Hey, it’s me, Quad. No need to fight. I’m here to get you out of this hellhole.”

“I can’t”— Coop blinked rapidly as his head began to pound—”I can’t focus. They drugged me.”

There was pressure at his neck, and then he heard a small snick. The feel of metal scraped along his skin, and Coop felt as if he could finally breathe again. Not that the collar was choking him, but it was a weight that had stopped him from shifting.

“Go ahead,” Quad said. “Shift so you can get out of those restraints.”

Coop waited as Quad pulled his pajama pants off. Once the fabric was gone, Coop shifted. He slipped easily from the shackles and then slowly climbed to the floor. Dizziness washed over him, and he knew he would have to be careful.

Quad tossed Coop’s pajama pants over his shoulder and then headed to the door. “Everyone is here looking for you.”

Who exactly was everyone? The Enforcers? Olin? His parents? Coop wasn’t sure who Quad was referring to. He followed the guy into a hallway and then stopped to shake his head, trying to clear it.

“I’m going to take you to Talyn.” Quad’s tone was low. “We’re not sure who all is here as far as your captors go, so we need to keep quiet and make our way back to the group.”

Coop caught only about half of what Quad said. He was too busy trying to place one paw in front of the other. He could manage if the hallway stopped moving. Although he wanted to shift back into his human form and ask Quad a ton of questions, Coop was better off in his leopard form. The only weapon he would have if one of his captors showed was a pair of pajama pants.

He would be of better use to Quad if he had claws and teeth.

And a clear mind.

As Coop padded down the hallway, he glanced around. The floor was made of concrete, and the walls were cinderblock. This was some sort of factory. There were pipes of various sizes running along the ceiling, and fluorescent lights hung inside rusted and worn ballasts. Half the bulbs weren’t even lit, and some blinked repeatedly, as if struggling to stay on.

The more Coop walked, the clearer his head became. The walls and floors were no longer shifting around and under him. His head was still pounding, but Coop could deal with that.