Wayward Son by Heath Stallcup Read Free Book Online Page B

toward the warehouse, his mind still bouncing between his two options. As soon as he entered the gloom of the warehouse, he saw the drastically reduced forces packing their meager gear. He had to force himself not to smile as he realized that the crew at the hangar did more than just hold their own against the attack.
    Bigby lay back on a cot, his shoulder bandaged and soaked with blood. Apollo grabbed the nearest wolf and pulled him aside, “What happened?”
    “We thought we had them. Bastards opened a hole in the floor and brought up this big black truck with a chain gun in the back. They sliced through our offensive line in no time. We had no choice but to retreat.”
    Apollo shook his head, feigning concern. “That must be something new.”
    “Or some secret machine they hadn’t told you about.” The wolf turned back to the gear and continued packing.
    “Why are you packing? Planning to bug out?”
    He cast a furtive glance over his shoulder toward the office then looked back to Apollo. “Our boss ain’t too happy with Sheridan. We’ve been called back home.”
    Apollo nodded. “And where’s that?”
    The wolf stiffened slightly and gave him a cautious stare. “You weren’t told when you were recruited?”
    “I didn’t care to know then.” Apollo motioned around him, “But it’s not exactly like I’m qualified for much else. I’m gonna need some kind of job.”
    The wolf considered his logic then rubbed at his chin. “Belize for the most part, but Mr. Simmons has properties all over. We might get assigned to any of them. He likes his security like he likes his women.”
    “What? Burly and covered in hair?” Apollo laughed at his own joke.
    The wolf shook his head. “No, thick .”
    “Ah.” Apollo glanced toward the office and dreaded the next part. “I guess I better go pack what little I have.”
    “Make it quick. We leave tomorrow.”
    He entered the office area to find Sheridan slumped in a chair, rubbing at his temples. He lifted his rummy eyes and looked to the large ebony man hopefully. “Please tell me you had better luck than we did.”
    Apollo straddled a stool and spun around to meet his gaze. “It was almost as if they were waiting on us. I was hoping we’d get there before my team did, but they were already there.” Apollo ground his teeth as he recounted the battle and the bitch-slapping wakeup call that Jack gave him. “Plus, the man had a bunch of others there. They sliced through my team like a hot knife through butter.”
    “Fuck!” Sheridan slapped a pile of papers from the table and hobbled to his feet, his anger forcing him to try to walk off the nervous tension. “What are ‘others’?”
    “You know…supernatural beings? Elves and shit. He even had a bunch of flying fucking gargoyles. Tore shit out of our chopper.”
    “How did you get back so quickly?” Sheridan glanced over his shoulder and out the dirty window to the warehouse.
    “We stole another one.” Apollo glanced over his shoulder to see what the man was trying to look at. “What?”
    “How many men did you lose?”
    Apollo grunted and pushed off the stool. “Nearly all of them. I think we came back with eight plus me.”
    Sheridan’s eyes bulged and he had to lean against the counter. “Bloody hell.”
    “Oh, it was bloody all right.” Apollo allowed a slight grin. “I ain’t for sure, but I think we took out the vamp that owned the place, though.”
    “Thorn?” Sheridan shook his head and slowly sat back down. “It was his forces we needed to take out. Anybody that had to do with the squads. Your Team Leader and my ‘best friend’ Mr. Thompson was number one on the hit list. Any chance he was fragged in the attack?”
    “Nope. Lucky fucker is still breathing.”
    “So he knows that you’ve switched sides?” Sheridan’s voice was cautious as his mind tried to devise three different ways to use the information as an advantage.
    “Oh yeah. And he knows that you’re involved as