by Dia Cole
The fury I’d been trying to bottle in for the past thirty minutes exploded.
I flipped on the light. “What are you doing?”
Reed’s friend Dexter and some dark-haired chick I didn’t know, pulled apart.
“Get out!” I screamed.
The woman hastily pulled down her tiny skirt while Dexter gave me an apologetic look. “Sorry, Lee we were just—”
“Trespassing. That’s what you were doing. Get the fuck out!”
The chick laughed. “And Reed said you were nice.”
I held up my fists. “I’ll give you fucking nice, right up your ass.”
With almost comical haste, they ran from my room.
I slammed the door behind me and locked it. Crinkling my nose in disgust, I surveyed my wrinkled mink-brown suede comforter.
What would possess people to sneak into a stranger’s room?
Still shaking my head, I walked over to my closet. Kneeling on the warped wood floor, I felt for the loose floorboard underneath a stack of shoe boxes. The plank came away in my hands. I reached down into the space and pulled out the money I’d socked away. I added tonight’s earnings along with Reed’s contribution.
It was enough to cover this month’s overdue rent. But we’d also have Eden’s latest legal fees to contend with…
With a heavy sigh, I slipped the money back into the hole. As I reassured myself that Gran’s small jewelry pouch remained untouched, my fingers brushed against cool metal. Unable to stop myself, I pulled out a two-foot long military knife.
My warped image reflected back at me from the shiny blade. The screams of my mother and sister seemed to reverberate in the air around the deadly weapon. Seeing the knife brought back the horror of that night. Of what my father had done. Of what he’d forced me to do…
Tears burned my eyes as I fell into the darkest of my memories.
9
Hunter
I forced myself to stay slumped over the cocktail table as my thoughts and emotions spun out in a million directions.
I have a mate.
Years ago, my twin had claimed I’d one day find our female—the mate we were destined for. Ghost said it’d be undeniable, like a lightning strike to my very soul. I’d written his prophesy off as another one of his mad ravings.
Until now.
The visceral reaction I’d had to my dancer could not be denied, and her presence here, at the same club where I’d been assigned, could not be a coincidence. The military must have discovered her existence and then forced me to watch her dance night after night, knowing the effect it would have on me.
My gaze skittered over to where Javier sat with his enforcers. Had the army arranged for them to come here too?
It all sounded too far-fetched. I scrubbed a hand over my face, not knowing what to believe. It could be nothing but a crazy coincidence, or it could be another one of their tests. My life had been filled with their soul-harrowing experiments—each pitting my primal instincts against my military programming. If it is another test, I can’t afford to fail it.
Not with my mate’s life on the line.
A vice clenched tight around my heart as I glanced at the television over the bar. Non-stop images of infected humans attacking the living played across the screen. The shock and horror of the news reporters was reflected in the faces of Donna, Max, and the bartender. They were trying to understand what was happening. But they couldn’t. No one could but the army scientists and Dr. Hurran who I suspected had a hand in unleashing this horror on the world.
Dammit. I had to find the bitch. But how? Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Javier pointedly ignore the panicked humans watching the news.
He didn’t seem the slightest bit concerned or surprised at current world events. Because the fucker knows what’s coming.
All the boring conversations I’d overheard regarding deliveries of food, equipment, and weapons made sense now. Javier was amassing supplies enough to see him and his faction through the end of days.
Temporarily forgetting my ruse, I sat up straighter in my chair.
And all those construction projects he was overseeing… They had to be fortifications to his compound.
He’s been preparing for the apocalypse. And he wants to ride it out with my mate.
I shook my head slightly. No fucking way would I allow that. Frustration ate at me as I tossed back another watered-down drink and looked away from the unfamiliar green-haired female awkwardly thrusting her hips in crotchless chaps on stage. Her terrible dancing and the loud twang of country music blaring through the club made my head throb. I toyed with the idea of cramming my cocktail napkin into my ears to block out the irritating sound.
That’s not all I could block out. A jolt of excitement ran through me. If I couldn’t hear Javier’s voice, there was no risk of falling under his control and I could happily beat the scientist’s location out of him.
My mood sank when I remembered Jen’s orders not to approach Javier. The chip in my head made it impossible to ignore a direct order from my handler. However, I’d learned a long time ago that the secret to circumventing my orders was all in my interpretation. The vaguer the order, the more I could misconstrue it and still avoid punishment. Unfortunately, in this case, my orders were pretty clear.
As I tried to think of a workaround, I noticed the dominatrix stalk out of the VIP area and join the other humans at the bar.
Donna looked up at her. “Honey, you need to see this. There’s some freaky shit going down.”
The dominatrix shook her head. “Tell me about it. I got a guy covered in black veins about to pass out in the VIP room.”
My blood ran cold. The virus is here. Fuck. It’s moving fast. Faster than even the Colonel had predicted.
As the humans continued speaking in panicked tones, two strange males walked into the club. Although the humans didn’t notice their arrival, the scent of Lykos was impossible for me to ignore.
Javier’s enforcers went on immediate alert and moved in protectively around him.
Keeping my head on the table, I questioned the sanity of wolf shifters who would enter a club filled with feline shifters.
The blond Lykos in the collared shirt and slacks looked confused to be there, but the taller, dark-haired male with the eye patch scanned the place with tactical precision. His one eye skimmed over my hunched form and zeroed in on Javier and his enforcers.
Javier met his gaze and exchanged a tense nod with him.
Interesting. There seemed to be some sort of truce between rival species. In any other circumstances, I might have given more of a shit at that unsettling discovery. But at the moment, all I cared about was getting the intel I needed.
Javier must’ve said something telepathically to Miguel, one of his enforcers, because the tall, muscular shifter quickly left the club. At the same time, the two Lykos shifters headed back into the VIP area.
I started to tense but reminded myself they were no threat to my dancer. Lee’s scent had faded to the point I knew she’d left the club.
Why are the Lykos here?
Maybe Javier had telepathically summoned them to deal with the infected human the dominatrix was worried about. If so, Javier was even more powerful than I’d credited. Not only did he rule his faction and the largest drug cartel in the hemisphere, he wielded incredibly powerful mind control, and was allied with the Lykos.
Suddenly, going up against such an adversary with a few pieces of paper in my ears didn’t seem like the brightest idea.
Dammit. I needed a plan and I needed it now. The club owner’s next words only added to my mounting frustration.
“We’re closing early tonight. Donna, go get Sly up. I’ll tell Mr. Diaz and his men that they need to leave.” Max looked over at Javier and trembled. “Let’s hope they don’t kill me…”
I gnashed my teeth together. There went any chance of getting the intel.
Seeming to have overheard the club owner, Javier glanced at his younger
brother. “Go start the car while I close out our tab.”
Luis, a depraved and blood-thirsty latent who hadn’t yet made his transition into an adult shifter, tossed his long hair behind him. “That’s a task for one of the humans. Have Carlos or Nero do it.”
Javier leveled his brother with a hard stare. “I. Asked. You.”
The other males cringed at the menace in his voice.
Color leeched from Luis’s face, but he bared his teeth in false bravado. “Fine.” He pushed out of the booth.
I expected a couple of the enforcers to accompany Luis but none did.
Javier watched his brother stalk across the club with narrowed eyes. Their dynamic was as old as time. Weaker younger brother coveted what powerful older brother had, and older brother had to continually put him in his place. It would end in blood as it always did. Until then, Luis would be his liability.
A liability I can exploit… A plan came together as I watched Luis angrily shove open the door and step outside.
I was bound by my orders so I couldn’t approach Javier or his enforcers. But Luis technically wasn’t one of the enforcers.
He’s fair game.
Thrilled to have found a move in what felt like an impossible chess game, I reached into my pocket, retrieved a wad of crumpled bills, and tossed them down on the table. I stood and gave Donna a jerky wave.
She didn’t look up from her conversation with the dominatrix.
Hoping I never had to see her or her watered-down drinks again, I stumbled through the club doors after my prey.
The icy wind felt amazing after the stuffiness of the club. Out of reflex, I opened my mouth and tasted the fresh air. It carried the unmistakable odor of blood and death. Several humans had died recently. I sniffed, wondering if they were casualties of the Z-virus or of Javier’s gang. I couldn’t tell and honestly didn’t give a fuck. The only thing that mattered was my dancer wasn’t among them.
I carefully scanned the parking lot. It was empty except for the driver of an SUV idling near the street and Luis.
The urge to shift and attack Javier’s brother gripped me, but it was overridden by my programming. My handler had ordered me not to blow my cover, so letting my beast take over wasn’t an option.
Luis was just opening the door to one of the black Mercedes parked near the front of the lot when I shambled up next to him.
“Can I get a ride?” I asked in a slurred voice.
The long-haired male spun around, his face wrinkling in disgust. “Chinga tu madre.” When I didn’t move, he raised his fist as if to hit me.
“Put your hand down,” I ordered, infusing my voice with power. Using compulsion was a gamble, but I’d sensed the latent was nowhere as strong as his brother.
Luis’s arm dropped.
Relieved as fuck that my power play had paid off, I said, “You’re under my control.”
“I’m under your control,” he echoed, his eyes going blank.
“Where is Dr. Hurran?”
“At one of the university labs.”
“Which one?”
“No sé.”
There had to be dozens of labs on campus. “What else do you know about her location?”
“She’s being moved to the Hacienda tomorrow.”
I cursed, once the scientist was inside Javier’s heavily fortified compound, she’d be much harder to get to. “What time is she being moved?”
“No sé.”
“How many will be in her escort?”
“No sé.”
I gritted my teeth in frustration. “Guess.”
“Four or five.”
I could tear through that in a hot minute. The tension I’d been carrying evaporated. I had the intel. I’d completed the mission. Now I needed to get my ass back to base and relay it to Jen, but first…
I stepped closer to Luis and yanked off my sunglasses. “Make sure your brother leaves Lee alone.”
“Who’s Lee?”
“The dancer he’s putting the moves on.” I motioned back at the club.
“Imposible. He wants her in his bed.”
My vision darkened with rage. “That will never happen.” She’s mine. “Tell him to forget her.”
Luis blinked at me. “He’s already sent Miguel to pick her up.”
The fuck? The enforcer had left the club just a few minutes earlier. Shit. “Call Miguel and tell him there’s been a change in plan. Tell him to go back to the Hacienda without the dancer.”
“Miguel and the other sicarios only follow my brother’s orders,” Luis said in an emotionless voice.
Cursing, I grabbed Luis’s arm and stared down at the expensive watch on his wrist. There’s plenty of time to take care of Miguel and still make Jen's deadline.
The sound of the SUV’s engine shutting off rushed my decision. I turned back to Luis. “Forget about us having this conversation.”
“Si,” he said, blinking.
I shuffled away from Luis as a massive Lykos stepped out of the SUV. The motherfucker was huge—nearly as large as I was in my natural form. Although I could have easily made short work of the auburn-haired shifter, I was relieved when he headed for the club.
“Jen,” I whispered, stumbling to the sidewalk. “I have the intel, but I need to protect a civilian from Javier.”
My handler didn’t respond. Although I sensed her, our connection was muted, and her emotions were unclear.
I tried again. “Handler.”
No response.
Throughout the course of my miserable life, I’d passed through several handlers. Some treated me decently. Others abused the shit out of me. But every single one of them responded when I called for them. It was part of their programming.
Maybe I should’ve been more concerned about what was going on with Jen, but all I could think about was my dancer. Lee’s house wasn’t far from here.
Miguel might already be there.
Fuck it. If Jen and the other handlers were watching me, I'd give them some entertainment. Abandoning my drunk act, I ran across the street and ducked behind the liquor store. In the dank smelling darkness, I stripped off my clothes. Dropping my disguise, I did an all over body shake and expanded into my natural form. Then, I activated the unique cloaking properties of my skin that rendered me invisible and raced toward my mate’s home.
I covered the distance in less than a minute. When I was a street away from her house, I passed a black Mercedes speeding through the neighborhood.
Miguel.
My orders prevented me from approaching him, but what if he approached me? Grinning, I darted into the middle of the road. As the vehicle barreled toward me, I hummed one of the songs from my mate’s dance routine.
I confirmed Miguel’s identity and shifted my hand and arm. Then, milliseconds before the vehicle could smash into me, I drove my massive claw-tipped paw straight into the three-pointed-star Mercedes-Benz emblem on the front grille. The impact sent the vehicle somersaulting over my head.
It landed right-side up with a deafening crunch. Noxious odors of smoke and gasoline wafted from the wreckage as Miguel’s unconscious body slumped into the rapidly deflating airbag. The enforcer wasn’t picking up my mate or anyone else tonight.
As I shifted my uninjured paw back into a hand, a light from one of the houses across the street flicked on.
I should go. The threat to my mate had been dealt with, and my programming urged me to head to the army base to make my handler’s deadline. And yet, a much stronger need had me looking down the street.
I still have time to see Lee.
If my handler or any other soldiers had been monitoring me, they would have swooped in to apprehend me long before now.
A thrill shot through me. I’m truly off leash. As long as I followed the previously given order to be back at base by four, I could do whatever the fuck I wanted. And I wanted only one thing…
10
Lee
Someone pounded on my door hard enough to shake the wood
frame.
The sound tore me from my terrifying memories.
“Come out, sugar. No hiding in your room when there’s free beer and single men to be had.”
The breath I was holding came out in a rush.
Cami.
Wiping away my tears, I quickly pushed the knife into its hiding place and covered it with the plank.
“One of those single men just poured his free beer all over me,” I shouted back at her.
“I hope you made him lick it off.”
“Yeah, no. Give me a second.” I hastily swapped the damp sweater for a black halter top and opened the door.
Cami stood in the hallway still wearing the teeny-tiny plaid skirt and white thigh-highs from her set at the club. She’d tied her white button-down shirt into a knot under her ample cleavage. It showcased her tanned abs and the dangly belly button ring that matched my own.
“Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes,” she swayed unsteadily, a vodka bottle dangling from between her fingers.
I laughed. “Couldn’t wait to start the party?”
“Don’t give me a hard time. My head is throbbing, and I feel like crap. Thank God the new girl drew the short straw. There was no way I could’ve danced back-to-back sets.” She took a healthy gulp from the bottle.
“What do you mean?”
“The evil-bitch-of-the-West didn’t bother gracing us with her presence. Max is livid.”
Goosebumps ran down my arms. “Jess didn’t show?”
“Nope. But the good news is, I think she finally crossed the line this time. Given the way Max flipped his lid, she can kiss her job goodbye.”
Oh, God. It wasn’t a prank.
The room spun. “I-I saw Jess outside the club.” Before my legs could give out, I sat down on my bed. “Some guy had torn out her… her stomach…”
“What?”
My tongue thickened, making it hard to speak the words out loud. “Then she got up and came after me. I think… I think they were zombies.”
Cami burst into laughter.