Well, it was just a matter of time. Jase nodded. “Any leads on Garrett?”
“This guy was just going to tell me where they’re keeping my son.” Talen slashed a shallow cut down the Kurjan’s torso.
“He’s dead.” The Kurjan’s eyes swirled a bloody red that matched his hair. Most Kurjans had red hair with black tips, unlike Kalin. This guy had clown hair—scary clown hair.
Talen cut again. “He’s not dead. Where is he?”
The Kurjan hissed in pain. “Dead. Kalin cut off his head.” Rage flicked across Talen’s face. “Now, that’s not true.”
Jase fought nausea. He’d been tortured too much to be able to calm down. “Listen, buddy. Talen can keep you alive for weeks until you beg for death. Tell us where Garrett is.”
Talen focused on Jase, his eyes narrowing. “I’ve got this, but Dage needs help securing the tunnels again.”
Jase opened his mouth to protest and snapped it shut at his brother’s stubborn glare. Maybe Talen didn’t want Jase to watch any more than Jase did. He nodded. “Call me if you need me.”
Making a quick exit, he hurried toward headquarters. The Kurjan’s high-pitched screams forced him into a run.
The smell of battle hung over the lodge like a heavy blanket. Smoke, dust, and despair. He yanked open the door and stopped at the sight of Janie and Cara sitting in the rec room. Both had red eyes and noses.
He cleared his throat. “What the hell were you thinking?” Even as the harsh words left his mouth, he wanted to bite them back. Yelling at Janie wasn’t going to help anything.
She sniffed. “I did the same thing any one of you would’ve done.”
At twenty-four years old, she was just a baby. An innocent they’d all protected so fiercely. Jase shook his head. “We’re not likely to break in the wind, Janet Isabella. You’re human, like it or not.”
“I’m the freakin’ prophesied one,” she snapped. “Kalin wouldn’t have hurt me.”
No, he just would’ve forced her to mate him. Didn’t Janie understand what that meant? One glance at Cara confirmed she knew exactly what it meant.
He sighed, banishing anger. For now. “We’ll get him back, Cara. I promise.” When he’d been fifteen, he’d lost his parents. The idea of a mother’s love and concern was sweet, and he’d protect the woman with everything he had. “Garrett is smart and well-trained.”
“So were you,” Cara said softly, her blue eyes full of torment. “He’s so young.”
Yeah, but he was a Kayrs, and he’d survive whatever they did to him. “Right now, Kalin still thinks he has a chance at Janie. So he’ll keep Garrett safe as a bargaining chip.” Hopefully. Who knew what the crazy butcher would do?
“I know.” Cara slipped an arm around her daughter’s shoulders. Since Cara was a mate, she hadn’t aged, and the two looked more like sisters. “I’m sorry you have to deal with all of this right now, Jase.”
His heart thumped. She worried about him? What was it with sweet-hearted females? He was surrounded. “I’m fine. Let’s just work on getting Garrett back.” He sent his niece a hard look. “Without sacrificing anybody.”
Janie pinned him with a stare she’d probably learned from Talen. “It was a good plan. I let them take me to Garrett, and you all rescue us both. Kalin won’t hurt me.”
If it came down to it, Kalin would kill her before letting her go. “You’re remembering the boy from your dreams, not the man he’s become.” Frankly, the bastard had been a serial killer since he was a teenager. “He’s not your friend.”
“I know he’s not my friend, but I’m the only link we have to finding Garrett, and we need to use that.”
Jase shook his head. “How could you tell them about the escape routes?”
She lifted an eyebrow. “I only told them about A and D—those were the least likely to ever be used. Uncle Dage has been planning on filling them in, anyway.”
Smart little human, wasn’t she?
Jase rubbed his chin. “How did you get word to them?”
“Dreamworld.”
Well, shit. “No more dreamworlds, Janet.” Jase wondered how he could shut down the worlds.
“No more talk about a trade,” Cara said. She glanced at the door. “Where’s Talen, anyway?”
“Helping to shore up the tunnels,” Jase lied. “He’ll be finished soon.”
Cara nodded and glanced at her daughter. “Good. I assume he’d like a talk with Janie.”
Janie blinked. “Now that sounds like fun.”
Jase chuckled and turned toward the far offices, glad he wasn’t Janie. “Good luck, sweetheart.” He strode through the hallway and shoved open the door to Dage’s aboveground office.
The king stood staring out the window.
Jase faltered. “What’s up?”
“I failed to see any of this happening.”
Jase stepped inside and shut the door. “You can’t control your visions.”
“I should be able to at least harness them,” Dage said thoughtfully. Too thoughtfully. “I didn’t see you being taken, Garrett being taken, or Janie giving the fucking Kurjans the blueprints to my fortress.”
Jase’s gut swirled. Dage in an unpredictable mood never boded well for Dage. For anybody, really. “Janie only gave them intel on the two tunnels you were planning on closing down.”
Dage turned around. “How the hell did she know that?”
Jase shrugged. “She’s always around and hears everything.”
“True.” Anger flashed hot and bright in the king’s eyes. “So she was willing to give herself to the Kurjan butcher in order to save her brother. As if Garrett would want to live with that.”
“She wants her baby brother safe,” Jase said softly. “I don’t think she thought the rest through.”
“No. She thought the plan all through.” Dage yanked a knife from his back pocket to toss on the desk. The blade clattered across the wood. “She’s not stupid.”
“You should probably get this anger out before seeing Janie.” Which explained why the king had been staring at the ocean.
“No shit.” Dage’s gaze narrowed. “You’re so great with anger.”
Jase flashed his most smart-assed grin. If Dage needed to pick on Jase in order to keep from yelling at Janie, then so be it. “I’m a rock star when it comes to anger, now, aren’t I?”
Dage growled low. “You sure you want to do this here?”
Why the hell not? “I’m sure.” Adrenaline and anticipation lit through Jase’s veins. He and his older brother had been circling each other for months, and it was time.
Talen shoved open the door. “The last Kurjan didn’t have a line on Garrett.” He glanced from Dage to Jase and then back to Dage. “Now is not the time.”
“Then get the hell out.” Jase kept his gaze on Dage.
Thus he didn’t see Talen lunge for him. The air moved, and Talen lifted him against the wall. He impacted with the sound of bricks hitting together. Pain lanced down his spine.
Talen leaned his furious face in close. “My son is probably being tortured by the enemy right now. So if you wouldn’t mind forgetting your own problems temporarily, I sure could use some help.”
Jase swallowed. He’d tried to convince himself Garrett was fine, but that was unlikely. Reality was a sucker punch tinged with shame. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
Talen dropped him.
His feet hit the hard tile, and he tightened his knees to keep his balance. “Do you want me to try with the remaining Kurjan?”
“He’s dead.” Talen eyed Dage. “You all right now?”
“Yes.” Dage rubbed a hand down his face. “I have messages out to every contact we have—even those not aligned with our people. If anybody has a line on Garrett, we’ll hear about it.”