Trigger

3

He asked, “What would the mafia want with an American female? They aren’t into American politics. That’s the Brighton Beach boys.”

She chuckled. “Apparently, the senator’s daughter has become an activist for a greener world. She was in Ukraine to speak to an organization regarding putting a stop to the newest diamond mine about to open on the Russian border.”

Trigg groaned. Kory’s main income source was from his mines. Yeah, that wasn’t a good idea on the female’s part. Dumb Americans always thinking they knew best and that it was their responsibility to save everyone, even those who didn’t want to be saved.

“I get it. So you want me to retrieve the tree hugger?” he finally said.

The general nodded in response. She picked out a few more pieces of paper and laid them out on the table before him.

“It is in your best interest, I believe,” she asserted.

Trigg did not show it, but he felt satisfaction moving through him along with the anger. The thought that he had the opportunity to leave this wretched place made him brim with exhilaration.

“Your device will be removed from your neck, but we will put a tracker in its place,” the general said, her voice darker then.

Trigg watched her closely. He was a good judge of character from his experiences in the bratva ... what the Russians called their mafia, and he knew she was a person whose word could not be trusted.

But he would hold out hope, for now. Being present was all he could do for himself.

“If you complete the mission,” she continued, “you will be free to work with the other shifters I have let out.”

Trigg could not hold in his scoff. The general, however, did not blink.

“If you want to call that being free,” he said. He had no idea what she was talking about, but it couldn’t be all that good, whatever it was.

“Is that a yes?” she inquired with a smirk.

Trigg stood, then adjusted his shirt. He’d have to get a new one that fit his leaner frame.

“I will complete the mission as requested,” he said. “You won’t be disappointed.”

The general maintained her smirk, then lifted her hand to lean on her cheek. He swore he even saw a glint of attraction in her eyes.

It would work for him if she felt this way. It was always an advantage to seem even remotely attractive to the enemy.

“Oh, I believe I won’t be,” she replied. “If you fail, you will once again be my guest with your own room here for a long time to come.”

He didn’t respond, just turned his back on her.

“One question, Trigg.” Standing at the door, he looked over his shoulder at her. “Why have you adopted an American accent? Why not your native Russian?”

He’d never thought about it, but he had kept the American accent he’d trained so hard to perfect. Perhaps he didn’t want to stand out from the crowd here in the prison. Perhaps he was so ashamed of his past life that he wanted to wipe it from his conscience.

He gave her a half-grin with a shrug and walked out.

Trigg was taken into an area that resembled an operating room. He was told to lie on a metal table and face downward. He heard the shrill sound of a drill-like tool and was told to hold still.

Trigger clenched his fists together as the device that had been planted into his neck was removed. Almost instantly, the whisper of his wolf morphed into a howl, moving through his skin like a warm dip into a bath.

It was instantly replaced by another tracker, one that felt like a thick slab of plastic slipping between his vertebrae. He felt its coolness, raw and sleek, slide inside him.

When they were finished, he sat up. He took a moment to breathe, feeling his full self returning. He stood, and his thoughts danced with color, power, and meaning.

He knew what this meant for him. If the kidnappers were Russian, then there was the likelihood of a connection to the Russian mafia. He could get back to Koryavin and, somehow, get his revenge.

But first, he needed to focus on the task at hand. He left the prison with a long stride, a confidence that had returned with a roar inside his bones.

Trigg was taken to a military base, where he was prepped for the mission. He felt like he was back doing what he loved for the first time in forever. He knew that the mission was as good as accomplished since his wolf had returned.

He closed his eyes on the jet to Russia, sleeping soundly for the first time in years.

TRIGG

Trigg crept around the large estate grounds of Kory’s villa outside Moscow. There were several security guys outside with dogs, and there would be more inside. It would be like running the gauntlet right up to Kory’s office.

Trigg smiled as he slipped through the trees, almost as stealthy as a shadow. He knew exactly where Kory would be. His study was located at the center of the villa and had the toughest security as well as all of Kory’s favorite entertainment. He’d sat in there plenty of times when he’d been working for the shady son of a b***h.

He chose a side gate as his point of entry and easily slipped through the gardens to press against the wall and sneak toward the two guards and their dogs. Both the dogs heard him and pricked up their ears, ready to alert their masters. Trigg growled low in his throat, and the dogs flattened their ears and whined, showing submission to the alpha.

Just as the men started to notice the behavior of the animals, he ran up beside them and chopped in separate directions with both hands, hitting the guys on the back of the neck at the same time. They went down immediately, and the dogs ran off into the darkness. They didn’t want to f**k with an alpha like him, that was for sure.

He considered slipping straight into the house, but he could hear footsteps approaching fast. He moved behind a pillar and saw a few guards rounding the corner at top speed. Like the other dogs, these turned away from him at the last second, running out into the garden. As the guys paused to puzzle the animals’ behavior, Trigg leaped out and brought them down with swift punches. He shook his head and rolled his eyes. It was too easy. He almost felt sorry for them.