Pate and Shane spun to face her.
She leveled her furious stare on Pate. “You’ve got problems at Purgatory, big ones, okay? I was supposed to interview werewolves, and they gave me a silver remote that wouldn’t even work on them!” Olivia frantically shook her head. “Then, yes, the guard—Evan—just took me to the werewolves. The werewolves in maximum security. He threw me in there with them and…and just left me.”
A snarl built in Pate’s throat. He slanted a hard glance at Shane. “And where is this Evan now?”
“The last I saw of him,” Shane said softly, “a fully shifted werewolf was going for his throat.”
“Shifted?”
“The warden was letting the wolf track me and Olivia. The fool took the werewolf’s collar off.”
“That’s against every protocol they have at Purgatory.” Pate started his frantic pacing again.
“Yes, well…” Shane jerked a hand through his hair. “Protocol isn’t big there. The place is still out of control. I don’t know what bull you’re being fed, but it’s chaos there.”
Pate yanked out his phone. Marched for the door. “My men will take over. They’ll secure the place.”
Shane tilted his head as he studied Pate’s retreating figure. “Who’s responsible for caging them?”
Pate glanced back at him. “Senator Donald Quick, the man who guaranteed that Purgatory would not fail this time.”
Is he the man you believe is setting us all up for disaster?
Pate’s stare darted back to Olivia. “I’ll be right back, Dr. Maddox, and when I return, you will tell us your secrets.”
“I’m the victim here!” Olivia yelled at him.
Pate grunted and left the cabin. The door shut softly behind him.
“This is insane.” Her breathless voice had Shane glancing at her again. “Uncuff me. Stop this madness right now!”
He wanted to but… “There are two ways this can work.”
She shook her head.
“You can tell us what we want to know. Start talking now, on your own…” He closed in on her. Shane leaned close to Olivia. Her sensual scent wrapped around him. “Or we make you talk.”
Fear flashed in her beautiful eyes. He hated that look of fear. Hated that he was the cause of her terror.
“I thought you were protecting me,” she whispered as she gave a confused shake of her head. “Why are you doing this?”
He leaned in even closer. Close enough to kiss her. And he could still taste her on his tongue. “Because you’re a weapon that can be used to hurt a lot of people. I can’t let that happen.” He’d seen too much death, too many slaughters in all of his centuries.
“I’m not a weapon.” She shook her head once more. Her hair slid over her shoulders. “I’m just a person.” Her voice lowered to a desperate, husky rasp, “Please, Shane, don’t do this to me. I-I’m scared.”
His gut clenched. “Just talk, Olivia. Tell us what we need to know!”
She jerked and the chair bounced on its legs. “There’s nothing to tell! I’m a normal woman, I’m not some—some djinn! I thought you were helping me!” Now her voice wasn’t a whisper, it was closer to a yell. “But you’re playing some game that I don’t understand!”
His hands closed around her delicate shoulders. He pushed down, stopping her frantic movements. “Why are you drawn to monsters?”
“What?”
“Human killers. Paranormal killers. Why do they fascinate you so much?”
Her eyelashes flickered. “Because I want to stop them. I-I don’t want anyone else to get hurt—”
He brought his mouth next to her ear. “You’re lying to me,” he murmured. “Don’t do that. Not again.”
The scent of her fear deepened.
He pulled back. Stared into her eyes once more. “Why do you like the monsters?”
She shook her head.
“Why, Olivia?”
“I don’t like monsters!”
He nodded even as a cold dread slid through him. “So you’re choosing option two?”
The door creaked open behind him. Footsteps padded into the room. He glanced back and saw both Pate and Connor enter the room.
“The Para Unit will take over Purgatory. My men will stand guard until I say otherwise,” Pate told him flatly. “Provided, of course, they get there and the whole place isn’t already a bloodbath.”
Shane was sure there would be plenty of blood on the ground at Purgatory.
Pate’s brow lifted as his stare shifted to Shane’s hands—and their hold on Olivia’s shoulders. “Are you ready to talk, Dr. Maddox?”
“I don’t have anything new to say! I was sent to do research—you okayed my trip there! You’re the one who sent me!”
Pate shook his head. “I didn’t want to send you there. I wasn’t given much of a choice. Again…” His gaze darted to Shane. “The senator was using his pull. Senator Quick wanted to make sure that humane conditions were being maintained at the facility. Getting a shrink in there for the inmates…that was his brilliant idea.”
Connor propped his back against a nearby wall. Both his brows climbed as he said, “And the senator wanted her to be the one going in?”
Pate rubbed his jaw. “She was the one directly recommended by Quick. The senator said she was already well acquainted with paranormals, and when I interviewed her, she backed that up.” His gaze narrowed on Olivia. “You said you knew all about the monsters out there.”
Shane forced himself to release Olivia’s shoulders.
“Just how well acquainted are you?” Pate asked Olivia.
Her breath blew out in a hard rush. “The senator…I’ve known him for years. He helped me get some grants that I used with my research—”
“That tells me nothing about your relationship with other paranormals.” Pate’s voice was flat.
“I-I don’t have a relationship with other paranormals.”
Pate glanced at Connor, then back at Shane. Finally, his considering gaze returned to Olivia. “How did you learn of the existence of paranormals? That little bit wasn’t in your file, though I am starting to realize that file of yours…data in it was no doubt faked. Perhaps by your friend, the senator.”
Olivia licked her lips. “I saw werewolves attack when I was a teenager, okay? Th-the senator’s daughter, Chloe, she and I went to school together. We were friends.”