“Yeah, you taught me. A lot. You taught me how to think, not just follow dictates mindlessly when they don’t make sense.”

Cooper’s eyes bulged, his face dangerously red. “What are you talking about?” he demanded. “What doesn’t make sense about killing the bloodthirsty fuckers?”

“It’s always been NODEAL policy to destroy the infected. Without even trying to save them. Without even considering other alternatives.”

Cooper stared at him for a long moment. “What alternatives?”

Thinking of Darius’s special room, he said, “Come with me. If we don’t kill Claire’s alpha, I’ll show you the other alternatives.”

For a moment, something flashed in Cooper’s eyes. Uncertainty. Consideration for what Gideon was proposing.

His gaze steady and unblinking on the man he called a friend for half his life, he appealed one last time. “Help me. Together we can save her.”

“And him?” Cooper pointed a damning finger to where Darius waited in the Jeep. “Something tells me that cold-eyed bastard watching us can’t be saved. So what are you doing with him?”

Gideon frowned. “He’s not your run-of-the-mill lycan. He doesn’t have a pack and he doesn’t kill.” Even as Gideon said the words he winced at how unbelievable they sounded.

Cooper snorted. “Right. And he’s helping you out of the goodness of his heart.” He choked out a derisive laugh. “Come on, Gid. You’re not that gullible. What’s in it for him?”

Gideon swallowed and confessed, “He wants Claire.”

Cooper threw back his head and laughed. “Priceless.” He turned and cut through his lawn with swift strides, calling over his shoulder. “You two called a truce in order to save a woman you’re going to duke it out over later.”

On his front stoop, Cooper turned to face him. He stared right through Gideon, his look quelling. “I don’t help lycans.” He turned around and unlocked his front door, calling out just before the door slammed behind him, “Or their friends.”

The waning afternoon simmered all around him as he fought through the thick growth of trees and brush. The air hugged him, dense and moist as Gideon swung himself over the fence. Locusts roared dully to each other in the trees, their calls growing in frenzy. He inhaled deeply, trying to steady his pulse and clear his head. Hard to do when his thoughts were full of Claire and what she must be enduring within the lycan’s compound.

The tang of pine was sharp in the steaming air, making his skin itch. Sweat trickled down his spine as he led the way, leaving the road and world behind.