Risky Bargains

by J. C. Diem

  “The evidence would suggest otherwise, Franko,” Brynn said with a faint sneer. She wasn’t about to forget his treatment of her in the ring.

  “You’re good, but Liam is better,” Nick said proudly.

  “Go and take a shower, Agent Franko,” Liam suggested. “You’ve got blood on your pretty face.”

  Slinking off in shame, the alpha climbed the stairs, fuming in silence.

  Chapter Eighteen

  LIAM WAITED FOR FRANKO to slam his bedroom door shut before he rounded on Crowmon. “What did you do to me, trickster?” he demanded. He kept his voice down, just in case the alpha was pretending to be hiding in his room and had cracked his door open.

  “I just gave you a tiny boost, boyo,” the god said nonchalantly.

  “How?” Nick asked. “I thought you didn’t have that sort of power in our dimension.”

  “I made a deal with him,” I admitted. “I gave you some of my luck because I knew the douche nozzle would try to cheat.”

  “Did he cheat?” Liam asked, frowning about the fact that I’d made a deal with the deity.

  “He was just about to blast you with his alpha power when you landed that perfect right cross on his jaw,” I told him.

  “I’ve never seen you fight that precisely before, boss,” Syd said in awe. “It was awesome!”

  “I knew I’d been tampered with,” Liam said with a glower at the jester. “No one is that good in a fight.”

  “Don’t worry, lad,” Crowmon reassured him. “It isn’t permanent. The luck will wear off soon.”

  “What about Alex’s luck?” Yas asked in concern. “Is she going to have bad luck for a while?”

  Crowmon slid a look at me, then shrugged. “It’s hard to say,” he hedged.

  I planted my hands on my hips and glared at him. “Tell us the truth!” I ordered him. “Will giving Liam some of my luck leave me vulnerable to bad luck?”

  “Perhaps,” he admitted guiltily. “My deals do sometimes come with repercussions.”

  “You should have told me that before I made that bargain with you,” I said in annoyance.

  “Alex already has a curse hanging over her,” Syd said in disapproval. “She doesn’t need more trouble.”

  “What could possibly happen?” Crowmon said defensively. “We’re home safe and sound in our base. She’ll be fine as long as she stays here until the bad luck fades!”

  “Don’t go anywhere and don’t touch anything,” Liam told me. “Everyone, put your guns away. The last thing we need is for someone to trip over something and accidentally shoot Alex.”

  “You should give Franko that order, too,” Brynn suggested. “We’re only wearing our weapons because he always has his gun strapped to him.”

  “I’ll take care of it,” our boss said as the girls handed him their guns. “Training is over for today.”

  Everyone nodded in agreement and we dispersed. The girls headed to the gym to work out. Crowmon strolled over to the couch and plonked down and I walked over to the kitchen.

  Yas beat me to the kettle. “Don’t touch it!” she warned me. “It’ll probably blow up in your face.” She filled the kettle with water and switched it on.

  An ominous feeling hung over me and even Emma felt it. The squirrel wisely abandoned me. She took refuge on Yasmine’s shoulder, leaving me to deal with whatever bad luck was coming my way alone. I sat down at the dining table, noting the glances that came my way. They were all going to give me a wide berth, unwilling to get caught up in my bubble of doom.

  Liam and Nick climbed the stairs to wait for Franko to emerge from his bedroom. “There’s no need to wear your gun when we’re at our home base,” Liam told the alpha.

  “You’ve all been wearing yours,” Franko pointed out sulkily.

  “Only because you have yours on all the time and we don’t trust you,” Nick said.

  “Fine. I’ll leave my gun in my room,” the rookie said in a huff. “I wouldn’t want to offend anyone.” The twins carried the handguns into the bedrooms, leaving theirs behind as well before heading back to the coms room.

  When Heath ambled downstairs a couple of minutes later, his hair was damp and he was wearing a black t-shirt that clung to him like a second skin. Arrogance preceded him as he hunted for a snack in the kitchen. “Does anyone want anything?” he asked as he rummaged around in the cupboard. As per Liam’s order, he’d left his gun behind.

  “Cookies would be good,” I replied when my stomach rumbled.

  “Coming right up, princess,” he said sleazily.

  “Ugh,” I complained quietly. The alpha didn’t know when to quit. I’d made it clear that I wasn’t attracted to him. His ego refused to allow him to accept my rejection.

  Franko poured himself a mug of coffee and carried a plate of cookies over to the table. “Here you go, gorgeous,” he said and placed the plate halfway between us as he took the seat across from me.

  Casting him a dour look, I snatched up a cookie and bit into it. Crowmon let out a shrill giggle at something on the TV, startling me into sucking in a breath. The cookie became lodged in my throat and I couldn’t swallow it down. Unable to breathe, I pounded on my chest.

  “She’s choking!” Yas shouted in panic and everyone froze in horror.

  Franko shot to his feet and vaulted over the table to land beside me. He yanked me out of my chair, spun me around and put his arms around my chest. He performed the Heimlich maneuver and broke one of my ribs in the process. I spat the cookie out and gave a hoarse shout of pain.

  Liam and Nick rushed downstairs and I was instantly surrounded by my concerned friends and family. Heath had dropped me when I’d screamed and I’d folded to the floor. He hunkered next to me, face pale and looking remorseful. “I’m sorry, Alex. I didn’t mean to break your rib.”

  “It was an accident,” I said in a raspy voice, glad when my broken bone knitted itself back together. Emma threw herself at me and I caught her. She hugged my neck in her signature chokehold, quivering in relief that I was still alive.

  “That was really bad luck to choke on that cookie and get a broken rib in the process,” Yas said with a dark look at the deity. Crowmon hunched his shoulders defensively and gave me an apologetic look.

  “I’m going to lie down for a while,” I said. The twins took my hands to help me to my feet.

  “Do you still want tea?” Yas asked, wringing her hands in concern.

  “No!” I said a little too vehemently. “I’ll probably pass out and drown in the mug,” I muttered dourly.

  “Don’t lock your door,” Liam said. “I’ll check up on you soon.”

  It was a warning that my bad luck might not have run out yet and I nodded in agreement. Emma would race downstairs to get them if anything happened. I managed to make it to my room without breaking anything else and left the door open a couple of inches. Lying down on my bed, I waited for the agreement I’d made with Crowmon to run its course.

  “I’ll think twice about making a bargain with a god again, unless it’s an absolute necessity,” I vowed to the ceiling. Emma’s nose twitched in agreement. It had been too damn risky for my liking.

  While I didn’t quite fall asleep, I went into a light doze. Memories of my dreams floated to the surface of my mind. I saw myself with Jax in a strange room. We were lying on a narrow bed and we were both naked. I was in my astral form, but everything felt solid and real.

  Heat began to spread through me as I watched Jax do things to me that I’d never allowed any man to do. I moaned at the sensation of his hands and mouth on my skin. He kissed his way down my torso to the apex of my thighs and he was just about to put his tongue on me when Emma slapped me.

  “Damn it!” I said, sitting up and rubbing my cheek. “He was just getting to the good part!”

  Liam stuck his head into my room just in time to overhear me. His eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Am I interrupting something?” he asked.

  “No,” I lied, flustered. “It was just a dream.”
/>
  “It must have been some dream,” I heard Syd murmur as she walked past my door.

  “How are you feeling?” Liam asked.

  “I feel fine,” I replied, shaking off the memory of something that had never even happened. “How do you feel?”

  “Normal,” he said in relief.

  “Is it safe for me to leave my room now?” I asked warily.

  “I think so, but stay away from sharp objects, just in case,” he joked. “Lunch is ready.”

  I was starving, since I’d choked on my snack a couple of hours ago without actually eating any of it. Scooping Emma up, I followed Liam downstairs to risk eating the sandwiches that had been prepared while I’d been stuck in bad luck isolation.

  Chapter Nineteen

  WE SPENT THE NEXT COUPLE of days training, with Franko following on my heels wherever I went. He constantly tried to dazzle me with his looks, body and prowess. I wasn’t impressed with any of his attributes. Mostly because his personality sucked so badly.

  “How are your sniper skills, Agent Franko?” Syd asked a few days after the newbie’s arrival.

  “I received the highest ever marks during training,” the alpha boasted.

  “That’s great,” Sydney said with a smirk. “You don’t need me to give you any pointers. Come on, Alex and Yas. I’m stepping up your training today.” The rookie went to follow us and the werecougar held her hand up. “Sorry, Franko. Girls only.”

  Yas gave him a smug grin on our way past. He narrowed his eyes at her and clenched his hands into fists. Emma decided to accompany us outside, since this would be our first sniper training session. Or maybe she just wanted to visit her crystal figurine. I knew she’d stashed it in the hollow of a tree somewhere. She’d hidden it beneath a pile of dead leaves to prevent birds and animals from making off with it.

  We stopped in the indoor gun range to grab sniper rifles, ammo, safety glasses and earmuffs. Syd also grabbed sheets of canvas for us to lie on, so we wouldn’t get our clothes dirty.

  I wasn’t looking forward to this at all. I’d already proven over and over that I had no aptitude for shooting. It was highly doubtful I’d be any better with a sniper rifle.

  We exited through the back door and trudged over to the outdoor range. Now that the snow had melted, I could see the targets clearly. They ranged in size, shape and distances. The final one was so far away that it was just a glint of metal I could barely make out without a scope.

  “This is going to be fun!” Yas declared. She’d donned her hood and gloves, but still made sure she stood in the shade.

  “Yeah, lots of fun,” I said dourly.

  Sydney grinned at me as she placed the sheets of canvas on the ground. “At least the alpha hole isn’t here to point and laugh at you this time.”

  I snorted out a laugh of my own. “He really knows how to win the ladies over, doesn’t he?” I said wryly.

  “He’s so used to women falling at his feet just for being an alpha that he’s never needed to learn how to woo someone,” Yas figured.

  “He’s the werewolf equivalent of Colton,” Syd said with a grimace. “At least he hasn’t tried to use his alpha power to convince you to have sex with him.”

  “Can werewolves do that?” I asked in alarm.

  “I’ve heard the powerful ones can,” she replied. “It’s akin to rape, so the practice is frowned on.”

  I couldn’t see Yasmine’s expression, but I felt her anger. “If that douchebag tries that with Alex, I’ll tear him limb from limb!”

  “He won’t,” Syd said. “He wouldn’t be that stupid. He knows who her relatives are.”

  I was grateful that she’d spared me from being punished by the spells by being vague. “I can sense when he uses his power, so I’ll know what he’s up to,” I said to my bestie.

  “I almost hope he does turn out to be that stupid,” the vampire muttered. “Killing him is the only way we’re going to get rid of him.”

  “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that,” Syd said. “We’d have to have a very good reason to kill an alpha. It’s hard to prove it when they seduce unwilling females and it isn’t a killing offense when they do.”

  Tired of talking about Heath, I gestured at the rifle I was carrying. “Am I going to humiliate myself by missing every shot, or are we going to stand here talking about the alpha hole all day?”

  Snickering, the werecat pointed at the canvas on the left. “You’ll be aiming at the closest target, Agent D’Ath.”

  “A hundred bucks says she misses it,” Yas predicted.

  Syd’s answer was derisive. “As if I’m going to take that bet. I might as well flush my money down the toilet.”

  Yas watched while I lay down on the strip of canvas. Emma sank into the ground, heading for the front of the complex so she would be out of range of the noise we were about to make. Syd instructed me on how to set up the sniper rifle on the stand. I looked through the scope and the circular target came into view. It was close enough that I could see the bullseye clearly.

  “Do you see the flag moving?” Sydney asked.

  I lifted my head to focus on the orange flag that was tied to a tree halfway along the range. “Yeah? What about it?”

  “It’s indicating that the wind is coming from the west. Wait for it to die down, then take the shot.”

  Heaving a small sigh at my inevitable failure, I watched the flag until it went limp, then peered through the sight again. Flicking the safety off, I took a breath, then squeezed the trigger. As always, the thought of inflicting violence made me panic and I jerked the gun as I fired. The bullet missed the target completely. It became lodged in the trunk of a tree ten yards to the left of it.

  “Nice one, Alex,” Yas said in fake admiration. “You dealt that poor, innocent tree a terrible blow.”

  Scowling at her, I readied the rifle to take my next shot. Syd took pity on me after twenty or so shots. “Okay, that’s enough for now,” she said, barely able to contain her laughter. “You’ve broken the record for missing the most sniper shots ever fired in a row. No one is going to take that crown away from you.”

  Yas was slapping her leather clad thigh, doubled over in laughter. Glad for the ordeal to be over, I climbed to my feet and dusted myself off. “At least I’m consistently crappy at everything I do,” I joked, stinging at my utter lack of skills.

  “Imagine how good you’ll be once we get rid of the spells,” Syd said as she gestured at Yas to lie down on the other sheet of canvas. “Help me drag the canvas over the leech,” she added.

  My bestie set up her sniper rifle, then I helped Sydney pull the canvas I’d used over Yas. “Thanks, blood sacks,” she said in relief to be shielded from the increasingly warm sun. “Now I don’t feel like I’m roasting alive inside my suit.”

  “Do you need me to run through the pointers with you?” Syd asked.

  “Nah, I heard you repeat them to Alex so many times that I’ve memorized them,” the bloodsucker joked. Like she’d done it a thousand times before, she loaded a bullet into the chamber, checked the flag to see if it was windy, then sighted on her target. She aimed for one about halfway along the range.

  Sydney lifted binoculars to her eyes and I looked through my scope as the leech squeezed the trigger. Unlike me, she didn’t need to hold her breath, since she hadn’t breathed in thirty years. She hit the target of a deer directly in the middle of its forehead and let out a mad cackle of delight. “I’m so awesome I make myself sick sometimes,” she crowed.

  The werecougar and I snickered, then watched Yas decimate the metal targets for the next couple of hours.

  It was nice not having the brooding alpha watching my every movement. My peace was shattered when Emma notified me that Franko had left the base through the front door. She followed him without him knowing it as he jogged along the side of the building. He stopped in the shadows to watch us from a distance.

  “What’s wrong?” Syd asked when she saw my scowl.

  “My stalker is
watching us,” I said and flicked my eyes to the left.

  Casually glancing around, she spotted the alpha hole. “Oh, look at that, it’s time to stop,” she said. “Wrap it up, Yas,” she ordered. “After we take a break, I’ll teach you both how to dismantle your rifles, clean them, then put them back together again.”

  “Gee, I can’t wait,” Yas muttered, then took a final shot. This time, she aimed for the farthest target. I wasn’t at all surprised when she hit it directly in the bullseye. “I’m so damn good at this,” she said in satisfaction, then rose to her feet and shucked off the sheet of canvas that we’d draped over her.

  Chapter Twenty

  IT WAS A RELIEF WHEN Liam received a call the next morning. We’d all been itching for a new mission to crop up and our wishes had just been granted. He took the call in the coms room as the rest of us waited downstairs. His contact spoke too quietly for us to eavesdrop this time.

  “Okay, thanks for letting me know,” Liam said at last. “We’ll head to Elmview asap and look into it.” He hung up, then stood up to look down through the window at us. “A couple of kids were snatched from a playground by unknown creatures. The sheriff found a partial print, so he doesn’t think it was a human who took them. These things are fast, quiet and probably something new. We need to get to Montana, find them and put them down before they take anyone else. Get up here and grab your gear.”

  We all rushed for the stairs at his order. I was the last to reach them, thanks to Yasmine tripping me up. Liam put his hand out to stop me before I could enter the hallway. “Nick and I have been to Montana before, to a town a couple of hours away from Elmview.” He gestured at the computer table where he’d brought up a map of the town. “Zombies that are connected to my mom can take her anywhere they’ve been before. They can also travel to anywhere she’s been. Do you think Emma could link to us through you and take us there?”

  I turned to look at Emma, who looked back at me. Her nose twitched as she scanned my mind. We could both feel my familial link to the twins, but I hadn’t tried to use it before. “I guess we could try it,” I said doubtfully.