Wooing Wynter

by Tianna Xander

  “Whatever it is, it can wait.” Geno almost growled. “What is it with children and amusement parks?”

  “We’re not kids, dad.”

  “Well, you could have fooled me.” Bending, he rested his fisted hands on the table. “Shifters are being tortured out there, and all you idiots can think about is food and run-down amusement parks.”

  “Sorry, Papan.” All six boys said at once.

  Geno suppressed a grin at that. Some things never changed, thank the Goddess. He stole a glance at Wynter. Had their use of the word upset her? Apparently not. She held her hand over her mouth, and it appeared as though she was trying not to laugh.

  “Now,” he returned his gaze to the printout and pointed at a spot on the map. “According to this diagram, there are three possible entrances. Here, here and here. Reno, and Xeno, you take this one. It appears to be a back entrance that someone has used recently. Rowen and Ronin, you take this one. It’s an escape hatch through the roof. Likely, they’ll only use it in an emergency. I think they’ll try to run out the back first.”

  He glanced up to see if they were all paying attention. Satisfied that they were listening, he continued, “Ceno, Deno, Dana and I will go in here.” He pointed to what appeared to be the main entrance.

  “What about me. I told you, you’re not leaving me behind.” Wynter glared at him, her arms crossed. The tightening around her lips told him she wasn’t about to take no for an answer.

  “You’re coming with us.” Geno gave her a thin smile. “I thought we already agreed you would stay behind me.”

  “Oh,” she said, leaning back in her seat. “Okay.”

  “What happens if they make a run for it?” Reno stared down at the map, his expression grim.

  “If they’re lab techs, let them go.” He turned to Wynter. “Can you describe the man in charge?”

  “Yes.” She nodded, a haunted expression flitting over her face. “There are two, and both are male. The man calling himself a doctor and his assistant usually travel together. They are both balding, and they keep their light brown hair shaved close to their heads. They might appear completely bald from a distance.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “Of course I’m sure.” She frowned up at him. “I always thought it a bit strange that they both looked similar. They might be brothers, or possibly lovers.” She shrugged.

  “I only know they look a lot alike. Whether it’s by accident or design, I can’t tell you.”

  “Anything else?”

  “One is tall.” Wynter glanced at her companions. “Well, he was tall to me, about six-feet-two-inches. The other is about my height. They’ll be the only ones wearing white lab coats. The others will be wearing tan.”

  “So look for white. Got it.” Ceno cracked his knuckles with a smile. “This is going to be fun. I don’t think we’ve had this much excitement since the ship crashed in Magic.”

  “I don’t think you need this much excitement ever again.” Sela grabbed Ceno by the shoulders and pulled him down for a kiss. “Be careful and make sure you come back to me.”

  “I will.” He dragged her into his embrace. “Nothing will keep me from returning to you.” Ceno gave her a crooked smile. “We still have to work on giving Clyde more grandkids to torment.”

  “You’d better stay safe out there.” Birgit rested Reno’s hand over her thick middle. “This little guy is going to need your love and guidance.”

  “Little guy?” Reno’s brows shot up.

  “It’s a figure of speech. Don’t look so happy at the prospect of having a little boy. Girls are just as precious.”

  “Yes, they are.” Reno pulled her close with a grin. His hand slowly slid to her bottom before she reached down and pulled it back up to her waist.

  “You’re an incorrigible beast, Reno Brewer.” She smoothed his hair back with one hand and smiled.

  “We’re going to go tell Tabby and Charly what’s going on,” Deno said from the doorway as Xeno left the room. “We’ll join you in a few.”

  “I should probably go tell the boys we’re going to be gone for a while,” Wynter said as she headed for the door.

  “Do you think it’s wise? They’ll worry.”

  “I should at least tell the twins we’re leaving the ship. They have to suspect something. I’m constantly having someone babysit them.”

  “True.” Geno watched as she left the room. “I don’t think I know what I’m doing,” he said after Wynter disappeared around the corner.

  “Don’t be silly. You’ve had a mate before,” Sela glanced at him, her lips quirked up at the corners.

  “She wasn’t from this place.” He sat and rested his elbows on his knees. “You human women are a force all your own.”

  “At least we’re not boring.” Sela wrapped her arm around Ceno and glanced up at him with stars in her eyes.

  “You’re right about that.” Geno grinned. Human women certainly weren’t boring, but there were so many things he could do wrong because of it.

  An hour later, the sun had set, and the cloaked ship sat in an area between the entrances marked on Dana’s map of the underground bunker.

  “Did anyone free Jonah and give him a weapon just in case someone should find the ship?” Reno strapped a blaster to his hip and reached for a shock light.

  “I think Dana is doing that before she leaves the ship,” Deno said from the corner where he was shoving rope and other probable essentials into a backpack.

  “Make sure. I don’t want to leave the females unprotected. Dana said he’s passed the lie detector test and proven he can be trusted.” Geno patted himself down, doing a mental inventory of the weapons he carried. “Is everyone ready?”

  “Ready.” The answer came from everyone, almost at once.

  “Then, let’s go.” Geno started down the ramp and headed toward what he guessed was the main entrance. “You all know where to go. Let’s get a move on before they kill someone else.”

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  WINTER’S STOMACH CHURNED as she followed Geno. Her hands trembled as she held the strange weapon he’d given to her. It looked like a long, thick cigar. Truth be told the idiots inside the lab would probably think it was a personal gratification device—at least until she shot someone with it. Luckily, it would only stun them. That’s what Geno told her, anyway.

  Static broke through the tiny earbud before Reno said, “In position.”

  “Us, too,” Rowen or Ronin replied.

  “Well, everyone’s here, but Dana,” Deno whispered and glanced around, most likely looking for his newly adopted robotic sister.

  It was a strange family Wynter had become a part of over the last few days.

  Smiling, she glanced down at the small weapon she carried and wondered when her life had taken such a sharp turn into the bizarre.

  What next? She couldn’t help asking herself.

  She’d barely finished asking herself that when a gorgeous woman she’d never seen before walked up beside them. “Let me know when there’s something I can do.” She smiled, her white teeth almost glowing in the moonlight. Her less than perfect body—by Earth standards anyway—was larger than most, but with an hourglass shape that would have made Wynter jealous only weeks before.

  The tight black jumpsuit she wore accentuated every feminine curve and drew attention to the wide gun belt strapped to her hips sporting a blaster and knife on each hip. The stunner sticking out from between her large breasts might have been overkill.

  “It’s about time you got here,” Geno said with a growl.

  “Hey, nobody warned me how difficult it was going to be to choose an outfit.” She smoothed her hands down over her generous bosom and slightly rounded stomach. “And this body,” she whistled. “Is going to stop traffic on Zolon.”

  “Dana?” Wynter stared at her wide-eyed. “Is that you?”

  “Yep.” Dana smiled wide and patted the side of her head. “Well, most of me, anyway. The rest is on board, holding
the link in case something should happen, and I need to go back to my hard drive.” She held her arms out and spun in a circle. “How do I look?”

  “You look like some dark superhero or anti-hero to me.”

  “Thanks!” Dana leaned closer and whispered. “That was the look I was going for when I dressed like this. Bat lady meets steelman.” She titled her head. “I don’t think I got that right, but the other part of my consciousness is busy and can’t concentrate as well as usual. Is this how you humans feel all the time?” She frowned. “If that’s the case, it sucks to be you.”

  “You were right. There’s a lot wrong with that sentence, but it can wait until later.” Wynter only hoped Dana didn’t act like an anti-hero. The point was to save the people held captive here, not to get them killed. She didn’t say anything about the last remark. To a sentient computer, carbon lifeforms probably seemed kind of dense.

  “There it is.” Geno pointed to a large tunnel ahead of them. It was on the side of a hill and concealed in brush, but not covered enough to hide it very well.

  “The tunnel goes down. It’s lined with cement and sealed. There might be a little water inside, but whoever built it did their best to keep it dry. A good portion of it is under the lake.”

  “Why would someone tunnel under a lake?”

  “I think it had something to do with power lines.” Dana shrugged. “Whatever the reason, I found some kind of protected lines running across the lake and into Canada.”

  “Weird,” Wynter said as she followed Geno and Dana down into the subterranean bunker.

  “Very,” Dana agreed. “The tunnel widens out in a few meters and then opens up into several branches with different rooms after that.” She stopped next to a box protruding from the wall. “Aha! I’d hoped they’d have something down here that I could exploit.”

  She held her hand up to the box. Several small wires snaked from the tips of her fingers and made contact with the glowing touchpad.

  It beeped several times, and the pad flashed before the box clicked open.

  “Give me a minute. I’m going to unlock all the cells before I secure it to keep the techs out of the system before we go on. With any luck at all, our captured friends will give us the advantage we need.”

  “Advantage?”

  “Yes.” Dana glanced at them, her confidence almost contagious. “I didn’t realize this until we got down here, and I sent the data from the sensors in my nipples to my other half aboard the ship.”

  Deno snorted behind her. He’d been so quiet, bringing up the rear, Wynter had almost forgotten he was there.

  “Wait a minute,” Wynter said with a frown. “You have sensors in your—“

  “We don’t have time for that.” Geno interrupted. He glanced at the humanoid personification of his computer. “You didn’t realize what?”

  “There are forty armed guards in various tunnels throughout this facility.”

  “Forty?” Geno swiped his hand over his face. “Goddess help us. How are we going to get the drop on forty armed guards?”

  “Maybe we should leave,” Wynter suggested. The last thing she wanted was to get Geno, and his sons captured.

  “No.” Dana shook her head. “Our team, together with the fifty-two shifters and nineteen humans in this lab, should be able to overpower the guards with very few casualties.”

  “That’s only if the prisoners know they can get out of their cells and aren’t too scared or too exhausted to help us.” Wynter couldn’t shake the thought that their incursion had bad idea written all over it.

  “Forty-seven shifters are in good health. Only five of them are too sick or exhausted to help much. Even so, I have no doubt even the injured will enter the fray, given a chance at freedom.”

  “So, is that what you’re boobs are telling you, or are you developing intuition?” Wynter tried not to be sarcastic, but what other things could the new Dana do? The one thing she really wanted to know was if the computer had a crush on Geno? Wynter wasn’t opposed to fighting for her man, but a throwdown with an artificial lifeform that had over proportioned hips and nipple sensors in her oversized breasts wasn’t on her list of things to do.

  “My sensors are telling me that.” Dana turned to Wynter and studied her for a moment. “Increased heart rate, blood pressure, and respiration would indicate that you are exerting yourself too much or you’re jealous.” She grinned. “Judging by the tightening of your lips, flushed face, and fisted fingers, I would extrapolate that you are preparing to challenge me for your mate.” She tilted her head to the side. “Good. I’ve decided I like you. You will make a wonderful adoptive mother for the boys and me.” She glanced back at the box. “There we go. All done. The cell doors are unlocked, and I’ve sealed the technicians out of the system. They can’t raise alarms or lock any doors. If we’re going to save these people, the time is now.”

  Dana reached down and pulled the guns from her hips and slowly moved forward.

  “Me first.” Geno tried to push Dana out of the way.

  “No way, Papan.” Her lips curled upward. “I like that. That’s what I am calling you from now on.” She rested her hands on her hips. “I am going first. My wireless tie to the ship precludes the loss of my life.” She glanced down. “I’ll regret the loss of this perfect body you bought for me, but I won’t have to worry about you. I’m not sure, but I don’t think crying will become these beautiful blue eyes you chose for me.”

  “Let her go, Papan,” Deno whispered. “Her sensors give her an advantage.

  “Perhaps, but you know how it is when you first bring a sentient computer online. It’s almost like raising a child. You come to care for them almost as if they were your own.

  “I knew you loved me.” Dana grinned and plastered herself to the wall as they approached a cross-section. She peered around the corner. “There are two guards in the next tunnel.”

  Wynter jumped when the sound of Dana’s voice came through the earbud. She held her hand to her ear.

  “How can I turn this down? And how did I hear her when her lips didn’t move,” she asked in a loud whisper.

  “You’re thinking too human.” Dana glanced back at her. “I have a connection to the wifi, remember? Now, don’t speak unless you have to, and if you must, please keep your voice down.”

  Geno held a finger to his lips and reached over to pull the device from her ear. He turned it over a few times and then handed it back to her.

  “That should be better,” he whispered.

  Wynter inserted the device back into her ear.

  Stay here. Geno’s voice bypassed the hearing device. Somehow he managed to speak directly into her mind.

  How did he do that?

  Now that we’re mated, we can communicate through a mind link. It also ties us together. Should anything happen, I will be able to find you anywhere on this planet. Geno met her gaze with a wink.

  Something that had been coiled tight inside her unraveled with that knowledge.

  “Wow,” Wynter whispered and rested her hand over her middle. I didn’t even realize I’d been so worried about that until now.

  She’d been so determined to get her friends out of there, if they were even here at all, that she’d missed all apprehension she had for her own well-being.

  As your mate, it’s my responsibility to know these things, whether you do or not. Geno reached down and squeezed her hand. Remember, you promised to stay behind me.

  He dove across the tunnel opening. Using his stunner, he shot the two guards standing between them and where he wanted to go. The men fell to the ground. The only sound was the hum of the stunner, the rustling of their clothes, and the noise they made when the large bodies hit the ground.

  “Reno, you two need to cause a distraction on your end,” Dana said over her wifi connection to the earbuds. “I’ve released the prisoners, but they don’t know it yet. Do something to get the guards’ attention, will you?” She glanced at Geno. “The last thing we need is for thei
r friends to discover them before we’re ready.”

  Wynter wasn’t sure she would ever be ready to infiltrate such a well-fortified lab with a family of bickering brothers and a computer in a humanoid body with freaking nipple sensors. She glanced down at her chest and wondered how the sensors worked.

  Stop thinking about that, Wynter. Pay attention to what’s going on.

  I could get used to this mind to mind talking. Winter glanced at Geno and suppressed a smile. It’s more private than using a radio. No matter what happens here, I want you to know that I have no regrets, Geno. I love you, and I would do anything for you.

  Wynter blinked when those words ran through her mind. She’d come a long way, but she did love Geno, and she trusted him and his sons to do what was right, even without her supervision. Still, Ryder and the others might not trust them.

  Their hope had already been tested to the limits before she escaped and left them behind. Her stomach clenched as they moved forward. Dana stepped lightly over the unconscious men. With her blasters drawn, she reached the first cell and yanked the door open.

  “Come on. We’re getting you all out of here.” She stepped back and waited for the people in the cell to follow her. “What are you waiting for?”

  “Hurry up if you want to get out of here.” Wynter stepped up behind Dana and rolled up her sleeves. She showed the scars and still-bruised injection lines. “I used to be one of you. It’s not a trick. Come with us if you want to get out of here.”

  The three men glanced her arm before sharing a look between themselves. They moved at once, diving for the doorway, heedless of the fact that they were all nearly naked.

  They didn’t stay to chat. The men headed out the way Wynter and her party came in at a run.

  “You’re welcome!” Dana called after them. “Wow! Not even a thank you.” She shook her head and started for the next fork in the tunnel. “There are three more guards to the left and two to the right.” She glanced at Geno. “I’ll take the three on the left.”

  “I don’t like this.” Geno shook his head. “It goes against the grain to put females in danger.”