“Here’s the thing,” the woman interrupted. “You have no right to be here, and you are scaring people. So just go on and get.”
He knew it was only a matter of time before someone at the Academy turned up at this place. If he was going to help Utopia, really help her, then he needed to get her away before that happen. They needed to be able to sit together and figure this out. He had a feeling that, even if everything was going to fall apart, they could find a way to weather it.
Or maybe he just wanted to see for himself that she was okay.
“I’m going to leave, I promise,” he said, focusing on the woman before him again. “I don’t want to cause you any trouble. But Utopia is in trouble. I want to help her. And I’m pretty sure she’s here. If she’s not, then she’ll make her way here sooner or later. So I’m not going to leave until you take my picture and this.”
He held out a paper. The woman scowled at him but took it.
“It’s the number of the motel room I’ve got. This way, if Utopia wants to talk to me, she can call. And if she doesn’t, then… well, then she doesn’t. I won’t come back, I promise.”
The woman peered up at him, still scowling. “And you’re not going to leave until I take your picture, you say?”
Liam shook his head. “So, if you want to get rid of me—”
The woman pulled a cellphone from her pocket and snapped a photo. She crumpled the paper in her hand and glared at him. “There. Now go away before I call the cops, and I better not see your face hanging around here again.”
Liam nodded at her, then turned on his heel and walked away. He wasn’t overly thrilled with having to do it this way, but he also knew that he wasn’t going to be able to just go in and search every room for her. That sort of aggression would only frighten her, not to mention the other women at the shelter.
No. He had to wait and hope she came to him.
He soon was back at the motel, where he threw himself down on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. He’d pulled out as much cash from his account and off his credit cards as he could before he returned to the city. Now, he had a little less than a thousand dollars to figure this mess out with. He couldn’t risk using cards, after all.
Liam had never thought he’d be on this side of the law. Wherever ‘this’ side was.
Minutes stretched to hours, and Liam busied himself cooking up some eggs on the hot plate he’d gotten, since there was nothing available to cook within the motel. His eyes kept returning to the phone, no matter how much he tried to tell himself to remain patient. His fingers drummed impatiently from time to time, but he knew this was going to take a while.
He could only hope that Utopia would trust him. He knew why she had run. Cooper tried to convince everyone she was going back to the Pack out of loyalty, but Liam knew better. She was terrified. Nobody had bothered to tell her what information they had about Aiden or what the plan was to get him back.
Anybody would have done the same.
Once his eggs were done, Liam sat down and looked over the files he’d gotten from Evan just before he had taken off. The satellite images didn’t show him a lot, but he couldn’t just sit around and do nothing while he waited. If he could figure out where Aiden was, then… well, he’d already gone after the Pack by himself once. And after leaving the way he had, it was a sure bet he’d be ousted from the Blaze Ops already. So, a dangerous mission bordering on suicide wasn’t any big deal, right?
He looked up sharply at a scraping noise just outside his door. He grabbed his issued gun, raising it—there was no room here to shift—and the door popped open.
It swung inward to reveal Eugene, with Evan at one shoulder, Stephen at the other, and Adam standing behind them. Liam lowered his weapon, not about to fire on his own teammates. The four of them marched into the room, shutting the door behind them.
“Fuck. What the fuck are you doing here?” Liam scowled at them all.
“Language,” Stephen said as he moved to pick the plate of eggs up. “You know how Fiona doesn’t like us swearing like that.”
“Like it makes a difference,” Liam spat. “How did you even find me?”
“Simple.” Stephen pointed at him. “We thought, if Liam is going crazy for this mate of his, what would he do? He would lay down a false trail of getting money from ATMs and other sources and then return to where Utopia must be and pay for his hideout in cash. You know, you ought to have gone with Airbnb or something, rather than a motel. Not a lot of places in the city will accept cash only and not demand a card on file for damages.”
Liam laughed bitterly. “And here I thought I was being clever.”
“Nah, you were being a real idiot, Captain.” Stephen shoveled the eggs into his mouth like he hadn’t eaten in years. “But I guess when your mate is in danger you don’t go around firing on all cylinders.”
Liam opened his mouth to deny that Utopia was his mate, but before he could, Adam had gone over to where his stash of cash was and tucked it all into his pocket. Liam snarled under his breath and glared at his teammates.
“Look, if you’re here to arrest me, you might as well go ahead and start trying. But I promise you, if you try, you’re going to have quite a fight on your hands.”
Eugene sighed. “If we were going to arrest you, we wouldn’t just come in here and steal your stuff, now would we? We’d have come in here fires blazing, and your head would already be hanging over the Colonel’s mantle.”
Where was Patrick? Liam frowned as he glanced at his teammates. Adam scowled at him, but the rest of them looked almost pleased with themselves. Evan, especially, was practically bouncing on his toes. Some of the tension drained from his shoulders as he turned back to Eugene, arching a brow in silent question.
“We found this,” Eugene said as he handed a file to Liam. “We’re pretty darn sure that’s where Aiden is being held. And while Patrick is furious and has every intention of nailing your hide to the wall when we get back, we have a mission first.”
Liam opened the file and frowned at the images inside. Three buildings almost entirely hidden in forest.
“There is a leak in the Academy,” Eugene continued. His expression pinched, and for a moment, blazing fury swept over his face. It was gone soon enough, leaving a blank, almost hollow look. “That you took off without any of us knowing... well, that’s going to work to our advantage. Only Patrick, Fiona and Maura know that we’re coming to get you… and to rescue Aiden. That’s why Patrick didn’t come. It would have been too suspicious otherwise.”
Liam let out a shaky breath as he closed the file. “And Utopia?”
“He’s heading the search for her,” Eugene assured him. “Not sure if you heard everything that happened, but… well, we can’t really trust Cooper to control his temper.”
Cooper again. Liam started to snarl, but Stephen smacked him up the backside of his head. He whirled on the First Lieutenant, but Stephen’s annoyed look pulled him up short. Liam sucked in a deep breath. He needed to get control of his emotions. He had to stop acting so impulsively. And Stephen, as insubordinate as his actions were, knew that.
“Alright,” Liam growled. “So, Cooper isn’t being allowed to look for her?”
“Right. He’s under house arrest at the moment, actually. It’s obvious to anyone with half a brain that Utopia’s escape was planned. And from what we’re seeing, the person knew that Cooper was going to be the one who saw her escaping. With his history, it only makes sense that he’d rather kill her than let her get away.”
Liam fought down the urge to fly back to the Academy and put his fist through Cooper’s face. Right now, he had to focus on what was given to him. And that was the ability to save Aiden and Utopia both. One final mission with the team before he was kicked out permanently—and he was going to make that work.
“Do we have any idea who the leak is, then?”
Eugene turned his face away. Adam sighed, and Evan shifted on the spot. A ball of dread fell in his stomach. Did th
ey think it was him?
“Clementine,” Stephen said.
Liam’s eyes widened. “What?”
“She’s the one that left it open for Utopia to escape. She’s the one that had Cooper where he was at the time of the escape,” Stephen explained. He glanced with concern at Eugene, but the Major kept his face turned away. “And she’s known everything. She’s always told the plans, so she can be prepared for when people come back injured. Patrick and Fiona are investigating further. Can’t have Cooper because… well, under the circumstances, he’s a suspect, too. Not a good one, though.”
Liam blew out a breath, hardly understanding. Clementine always seemed to be so worried about making sure everyone was okay! He had a hard time thinking of her as a traitor. But then, wasn’t that exactly how it worked?
The phone started ringing, making them all turn to look at it. Liam pushed past Stephen and grabbed the receiver. “Hello?”
“Hello,” a voice whispered on the other side. “It’s me. Utopia.”
Chapter Eighteen
Utopia never thought that she would willingly walk into the Blaze Ops’ jurisdiction. Ever since they were formed, she had lived in fear that they’d find her. Every time they swooped in and saved some of her subjects, she’d been grateful. But she was always afraid they’d take her or kill her and leave Aiden out on his own… with nobody to protect him.
Now, she had made her choice. She had to put her trust in somebody, and so her trust was going to Liam. He trusted his teammates, so she would, too. If anybody had a chance at actually saving Aiden, it was them.
Still, the doubts plagued her. She had been under the Alpha’s thumb for so long she had started to think of him as invincible. What if this was all some sort of elaborate trap? What if she was soon going to find herself experimenting on Liam once more, and not only him but all the Blaze Ops? Could she do it? Could she hurt him again?
She shook her head as she got off the bus in front of the dumpy, scary-looking motel. It was the perfect setup for a serial killer movie. The perfect place to have a prisoner that you were going to torture for information.
No. Liam told me that they’re going to help me. He wouldn’t lie to me.
But they could lie to him.
She shook her head again, not about to let herself spiral into those fears and take off again. She needed to do this. It really was Aiden’s only chance at not only life but a better future. Besides that, they probably already knew she was here. If they were going to do anything against her, it’d be easy for them to just grab her now.
She walked into the motel, her nose wrinkling at the smell of cheap cleaning chemicals.
The front desk was empty, not that she needed to talk to anybody. Liam had already told her which room to go to. Her heart thrummed as she went down the hallway, hands shaking. When she came to the door, it was already open, and Liam stood there. His eyes were anxious as he peered at her.
Utopia stopped, her heart jumping to her throat when she saw the rest of the Blaze Ops behind him. And the fierce scowls they wore on their faces.
Liam gently put a hand on her elbow and pulled her into the room. “Are you okay?”
She focused on him and him alone as she nodded. The minor injuries she’d sustained when she fled the Academy were healed. She placed her hands on his chest, wanting some of his strength when she felt like she might go spiraling and do something stupid again.
“I panicked,” she whispered. “I didn’t know what was happening. I thought… I thought if I went back, maybe the Alpha wouldn’t hurt Aiden.”
Another of the dragons, Eugene, broke in. He put a hand on Liam’s shoulder, physically removing him from Utopia’s proximity. She wanted to grab him back but let her hand drop. If this was going to happen, she knew that they were going to have their own doubts, after all. She turned to face Eugene, trying not to tremble under his gaze.
For being able to be so cold and distant from reality for so long while she was performing the Alpha’s experiments, she certainly felt like she was about to lose control now.
“You and I have to talk,” Eugene rumbled. Not in a threatening manner, but it did nothing for Utopia’s nerves. “Come with me, if you’ll please.”
Utopia glanced at Liam in alarm. He hadn’t told her that she was going to be alone with someone else! His brow was furrowed, like he didn’t expect this either, but he nodded toward her. Steadying herself, Utopia followed Eugene back into the hall, and into a separate room. There, he gestured for her to sit in the hard chair provided. She did so, twisting her hands in her lap.
“We need information,” he said as he shut the door behind them. “Before we move any further ahead with this. We have to know a few things.”
“What sort of things?” Utopia twitched uncomfortably.
“For starters, how large is the Pack? How many layers of organization does it have? And who is the Alpha? What is his name? We know he has a daughter, but does he have any other family?”
Utopia shuddered. “No. No, I am not telling you anything like that until I know that Aiden won’t be punished for—”
“Look,” Eugene interrupted. “Liam has gone off the rails for you. He’s breaking rules, and it’s clear to see that he cares about you. He wants you and Aiden to be safe. I, and the rest of the team, do not have that luxury. If you don’t tell me what I need to know, then I am taking you back to the Academy. I will make sure you spend the rest of your life in jail.”
“I don’t care if I go to jail,” Utopia spat back at him. “I care about my son!”
Eugene inhaled deeply. He studied her for a minute before sitting on the edge of the bed. “What about Liam?”
“What about…?”
“You know that he has broken a lot of rules for you. He’s put his career in jeopardy. Sleeping with you was only the first of his mistakes. This, chasing you out here? Could very easily be seen as an attempt to rejoin the Pack. We know there is a leak. How do we know it’s not him?”
Utopia’s eyes widened in horror. “You can’t be serious!”
“Can’t I?”
“You…” she struggled with herself as her hands clenched. “You can’t threaten Liam to make me cooperate. That’s… he’s your teammate. Your Captain.”
“My friend,” Eugene agreed. “But I don’t matter. My thoughts, my feelings. They don’t matter. We were told to bring certain information back before we were allowed to go after Aiden. If you don’t tell us what we need to know, then I am going to take you and Liam back and throw you both in jail.”
Utopia’s mouth went dry. She could see by Eugene’s expression that he didn’t want to do this… but that he would.
“Fine,” she whispered, hating that her hand was forced like this but not seeing any other way out.
For the next few hours, Eugene asked her questions and she answered them to the best of her ability. He recorded the whole conversation, and when he was finally satisfied, he sent the interview in an email to Maura. Utopia clenched her hands as he tucked his phone back into his pocket and nodded at her.
“Thank you,” he said. “This information may end up saving lives.”
“If it doesn’t save my son’s life,” Utopia spat, “I’ll kill you. I don’t care if they lock me away in the darkest dungeon. I will kill you.”
Eugene didn’t even blink at the threat. “I don’t doubt that you will.”
He took her back to the other room with the rest of the Blaze Ops without another word. Liam looked nervously at her, but she managed a small smile, assuring him that she was alright. Emotions swirled through her, too many to name. Would Eugene really have turned on him if she hadn’t talked?
“Captain, you’re to stay here and keep the doctor in your custody,” Eugene said, his voice firm and businesslike once more. “The rest of us are going in to get Aiden now.”
“Wait, that’s it?” Utopia looked at them all. A couple of the dragons didn’t look thrilled about the arrangement, but none of them an
swered her. Instead, they all filed out. She and Liam were left alone. She turned to him in shock. Was it a trap? Were they going to go back to the Academy with the information she gave and leave her, Liam and Aiden to the Alpha? “Are they really going to rescue him?”
“Yeah.” Liam sank down on the bed. “They are. They don’t have the time to take us back first, otherwise they would. They’re using my absence as a reason to be gone without the leak telling the Pack they’re coming.”
Utopia sat on the bed next to him. She frowned, wanting to ask—why leave him behind too, then?
Liam seemed to read it on her face, though. His scowl deepened as he glared at the door. “They don’t trust me to go on the mission with them. That’s why I was left behind. Because they don’t trust me to have their backs.”
“But… if that was true, why leave you here? You’re guarding me, right? If you were in league with the Pack, wouldn’t you just phone up the Alpha and warn him that they’re coming?”
Liam shook his head. “They don’t think I’m a traitor. They just think I’m compromised because of…”
“Because of me.” Utopia felt a heavy weight sink in her stomach.
She didn’t know what to say. She never thought that one day she’d have felt like this for someone else. It had been so long since Adrian, she was certain she could never feel that depth of emotion again… and was any of this even real? Given the situation, hormones and stress could do a hell of a job on rationality and emotion both.
“Don’t worry too much,” Liam said. He forced a smile on his face. “They’re good. With or without me, they’re good. And I guess they are trusting me to keep an eye on you. That’s… something.”
“But what does this mean for you?”
Liam waved a hand like he was trying to brush the problem off. “Don’t worry about me.”
“But I do worry about you.” Utopia grasped his hand. “I worry a lot for you. And… And I…” She struggled to put her feelings into words. “I don’t understand… why you seem to think that I’m worth all this.”
Dragon's Frenemy (Dragon Blaze Ops Book 2) Page 11