Protector

by Lisa Renee Jones

  “I’ve been thinking,” Holly said, drawing three sets of eyes. “This vitamin C deficiency you guys have could be a key to fighting the Arions.” Holly paused and squeezed Mason’s shoulder. “The bad ones, that is.”

  “How so?” Mason asked quietly.

  “What if I could come up with some sort of vitamin C zapper, like a virus that eats up the vitamin C in your body?”

  “Can you do that?” Sterling asked, a bit surprised.

  “I won’t promise. Many consider me overly ambitious,” Holly said with a degree of tension in her voice.

  “Are you?” Michael asked.

  “No.” She said simply with no hesitation.

  Michael studied her a moment. “That could be helpful but we need a battlefield tool to take them down, on the spot, during battle.”

  Holly gave Michael an irritated look. “I’m aware of that. I was thinking some sort of tranquilizer-type bullet.”

  The room was silent a moment. Mason reached up and took Holly’s hand from his shoulder, holding it in his own. “What do you need to make this happen?”

  “The basic lab you have said you could set up here is fine for now,” she said. “And a sample of each of your blood, of course.”

  Michael pushed to his feet. “You can have my blood. Just make this happen.”

  Holly met Michael’s gaze. “I’ll do my best.”

  “And that is better than most will ever achieve,” Mason said quietly as he stood. His eyes met hers, a message of pride there for her to see.

  Holly was forever surprising him, and always for the good. He wished the surprises he still had in store for her didn’t exist. He hated having secrets between them.

  * * * * *

  Mason watched as Holly extracted several tubes of blood from Sterling and Michael. She had been pleasantly surprised to find he already had a small lab in place that simply needed enhancements and expansion.

  When it was his turn to give blood, he sat down and extended his arm. Holly went to work, wrapping his arm with a tight band.

  “Tell me about your powers,” she quietly encouraged him.

  “I have much to learn about them myself,” he said with a shrug.

  Holly inserted the needle into his vein. “But you know some things,” she insisted. “Everything I can learn about Arions and Black Knights will help me with my research. I want to chart the traits of humans, Black Knights and Arions so I can compare.”

  He nodded. “I understand. I think Michael will be the best one to help you. He knows things I should but don’t. Secrets about what I can or can’t do physically and mentally.”

  She closed up the last tube and popped the band off his arm. Holding cotton on the extraction site, she bent his elbow to hold it in place. “Can you read my mind, Mason?”

  He reached for her, pulling her to stand between his legs. “If I could?”

  Her answer came quickly. “Can you?”

  “No.” He hesitated. “Yes. Sometimes I feel what you feel. I know you’re upset, or angry, or sad. I don’t hear your actual thoughts but I feel your feelings. It’s like a tunnel from my mind to yours.”

  She frowned. “Sometimes I think I can feel what you feel.”

  “Maybe you can,” he whispered, knowing how close she was to suspecting their bond was deeper than normal man and woman.

  She slid her hand to cup his cheek. “You can’t control my thoughts, can you?”

  Again he hesitated. “I can control people with my eyes. It’s a hypnotic trance-like state. It’s purely Arion. It’s one the things I knew was different about me. Black Knights have very limited abilities in mind control.”

  “So you could do that to me?”

  He met her eyes, willing her to see the truth he offered in them. “I would never do that to you. You have my word.”

  She smiled. “Then I believe you.”

  “Even after everything we’ve been through together?”

  “You have never broken your word to me. Until you do, I will believe you are good for it.”

  Mason ran his hands up her thighs and squeezed her bottom. “I don’t deserve you,” he whispered.

  Before she could respond, Michael came barreling into the room. “Okay, I just got word. Tonight is the night they move Roger.”

  * * * * *

  Holly stood in the weapons vault, which was on the same floor as the lab, watching Mason strap on weapons. She looked around the room and sighed. Weapons of all sorts—guns, knives, explosives, anything and everything—surrounded her.

  Mason slipped a gun in his shoulder holster. “Stop worrying. Everything will be fine.”

  Holly hugged herself, willing her voice to be strong. “Don’t you dare go and get yourself killed.”

  His hand stilled on the belt he was about to adjust. Instead, he reached for her, and pulled her into a hug. Kissing her head as she wrapped her arms around him, he said, “I fight, Angel. And I’m good at it. I don’t die easily.”

  Holly leaned back and looked at him. “I know what you are, Mason. I just want you to come back to me.”

  His expression softened with understanding. She saw what she felt in his eyes. They needed each other. In a soft promising of a voice, he said, “I will. I promise.”

  Then he kissed her. And she clung to him, praying he really would. She had lost her parents. Now that she had someone else to love, she didn’t want to lose him too.

  Holly walked him to the elevator and kissed him there too. Mason looked at Sterling, who was staying behind to guard her. “Keep her safe, man.”

  Sterling’s lips twitched and then he winked at Holly. “As long as she doesn’t run off again, we’ll be fine.”

  But she couldn’t smile. “I think Sterling should go with you guys. You need all the help you can get.”

  “Sterling’s not Arion. We are. They also want him dead, and me alive,” Mason told her for the third time. “Michael has my back.”

  Michael met her gaze, his tone serious. “I would die to protect him, Holly. He is the future.” Holly nodded and Michael continued, “And so are you. He needs you by his side. Stay here and stay safe.”

  Sterling touched her shoulder. She felt a growing friendship with him. Perhaps through his bond with Mason. She wasn’t sure. It simply was.

  She hugged Mason, pushing to her tiptoes and whispering in his ear. “I love you.”

  “And I you, Angel.”

  * * * * *

  Holly was determined to be of use in defeating the Arions. Her best asset was her scientific mind. Sterling and Holly sat in the only chairs in the lab, two metal back seats, as she drilled him with questions. She was taking notes as quickly as her hand would write.

  “Claws?” she asked and gulped, looking up from her pad of paper. “Arions have claws?”

  Sterling laughed. She shot him a look. He held his hands up. “Sorry, your expression is so priceless. Mason doesn’t have claws.”

  She was still frowning. “They come out during battle when anger kicks in. I’ve seen Mason in battle. No claws.”

  “That’s what ripped his side up, isn’t it?”

  “Yes,” Sterling said. “He was trying to save me.”

  She had thought Sterling to be a very hard man when she first met him. Now, she knew it hid a much more complicated Sterling, an honorable, good man. A much softer man than she had imagined.

  Holly reached forward and touched his hand. “As you would for him.”

  “Yes.”

  Holly’s thoughts went back to her work. “If all Arions don’t have claws, I assume there are other traits not universal to the race?”

  “Yes. It seems some have more power and ability than others. They might have the same skill, but with an extra ability to harness the power they hold in a more advanced way.”

  Holly thought a moment. “That sounds like a mind control issue. We need an expert in that area. I’m not it. What about other physical traits that are not shared?”

  Sterling h
esitated.

  “Just tell me,” Holly told him with irritation in her voice.

  He nodded but his discomfort was obvious. “Some Arions, when they reach a certain level of fury, have fangs.”

  “Fangs?”

  “Yes, almost wolf-like. We have no real idea what the aliens were like. The bodies disappeared years back. It was very secretive. By that time, though, the DNA extractions, and even some cloning, had been done and stored.”

  Holly pressed two fingers to her now-throbbing temple. For a brief instant she felt panic. She was in love with a man who was basically part alien. Who could have fangs and claws. Love. She loved him. Fangs or claws, he would only kill for the better of good. She knew that in her heart.

  “Of course, there is also a rumor that David has contact with the true alien race used for this whole experiment.”

  She snapped out of her own thoughts quickly. “You’re kidding.”

  He shrugged. “It’s a rumor. But somehow, some Arions have learned to harness their powers on a greater level, which seems to indicate someone, somewhere taught them. Then, there are the mating habits of Arions. I don’t see how we would have figured that out without help.”

  Uneasiness made her stomach flip-flop. “Mating habits?”

  Sterling eyed her closely as if he wanted to gauge her reaction. “Yes. Arion men can have sex with any female but they have only a few potential matches to mate with.”

  “Mate?” Holly asked with distaste in her tone. “That sounds very caveman-like.”

  “It’s actually a profound and unique bond, one that is lifelong once the mating ritual is performed. The mating process is not at all beastly or caveman-like. It’s far more complete than human ways. Once you mate, you never want another. Mates have the power to bring each other happiness beyond what human relationships bring.”

  She tilted her head to study him. “Meaning?”

  “There are mental and physical bonds the two share. Ultimate trust exists. I have seen the blessing it can be but I have also seen the pain it can deliver.”

  She swallowed. “Pain?”

  “Losing a mate is like losing part of one’s self. Some never recover the loss. And mates can be used against each other. The male is very possessive and protective. His mate’s safety will come above all else. Her pain will be his pain.”

  “I see,” Holly murmured.

  Could she be Mason’s mate? She felt a strange bond with him. She had from the moment she met him. They had only known each other a short time but she knew she loved him. And she knew him inside, his mind, his heart and his soul. There was no question to her, he was a good man. Could she say that so easily about another?

  Sterling pulled her from her reverie as he continued, “Here is the thing that makes me wonder if these aliens, whatever they are actually called—Arions is David’s name for his race—might be involved in this. See, Arions can only produce children with their mate. Since a mating can only take place if the two people have a certain connection, a mate can be difficult to find, thus making reproducing difficult.”

  Holly’s stomach flip-flopped again. Mason was Arion. If he ever wanted children, she couldn’t give them to him. Not that she was his mate, but the bottom line was, she couldn’t have children. And she couldn’t stand the thought of another woman with him.

  “So you think the Aliens want to use humans to expand their race?”

  “Yes, maybe. It’s something to be considered.”

  “It would indicate we have a much bigger problem to deal with than simply David trying to dominate,” Holly said with concern.

  “Yes, I’m afraid so. But the fact that mating is being so focused on is enough to be of concern, with or without the true aliens involved.”

  “So David is taking women to try and mate them with his men?” she asked.

  Sterling nodded. “Exactly.”

  Holly thought about the implications of David’s actions. The things she needed to accomplish felt overwhelming. She looked skyward and said a little prayer. She couldn’t fail. “I need to compare your physical makeup to Mason’s and Michael’s. And to a normal human’s, preferably male, but I can use mine to start. The common genes need to be identified. I need…I need a lot of things.”

  She sighed. Then she looked at Sterling. “This is going to take me time and resources. In the mean time, I need to help us all stay alive. Teach me how to shoot a gun.”

  His eyes widened. “What?”

  “You heard me.” She stood up and sat down her pad and pencil in her chair. “Teach me. I need to be ready to fight.”

  “Mason said you don’t like guns and fighting.”

  “I don’t like senseless death, mine included.” She motioned for him to stand. “Teach me.”

  “I’m not sure how Mason will feel about this,” Sterling said with concern.

  “Mason doesn’t control me,” she said, narrowing her eyes at him. Her look dared him to argue. “This is my life and I choose to take responsibility for it.”

  Sterling pushed to his feet. “You’re a pain in the ass, Holly Heart.”

  Holly laughed. There was a hint of admiration in his tone. “You ain’t seen nothing yet.”

  “That’s what I’m afraid of,” he muttered as he moved toward the door.

  Chapter Twenty

  A mile from Area 51, shadowed in the darkness, as still as if part of the forest, Mason and Michael hid.

  Two Arions were transporting Roger. One of which was Tad. Mason was looking forward to another confrontation with him. Unfortunately, tonight wasn’t the night for payback. But that day would come. Tad needed to be eliminated.

  The other was a man named Paul McIntyre. He had once been a good man. Or so Mason had thought. Obviously, he hadn’t been as good a judge of character as he had once surmised.

  Still, they were taking no risks. Not with an innocent human involved. He and Michael each held guns. They would take the two Arions down with bullets and get the hell out. If they took them off guard, they would get a few well-placed bullet holes before the Arions shielded themselves from the bullets. They had the mental ability to deflect what they knew existed. It’s why he didn’t bother using weapons at Holly’s place when he had been confronted. While on the attack, the Arions are always ready for anything.

  Weapons were best used when an element of surprise was in place. Like tonight.

  The motorcycles he and Michael had used for travel were hidden a mile away. They had finished the remainder of the trip by becoming the wind. With Michael’s assistance, Mason had managed to get a hold of that part of his power, at least to some degree. To become the wind was an Arion trait he had never utilized.

  The experience had been exhilarating, not to mention effective. Wind travel was a silent, rapid method of movement. The trip to Area 51, once they ditched the bikes, had been only minutes. Of course, they had taken most of it on motorcycle to accommodate bringing Roger back with them. Still, the cave was fairly close. Something that had given him little concern in the past since he had thought the 51 facility closed. Now, it was too close for comfort. He agreed with Michael—taking it over as their headquarters was a critical maneuver.

  The Arions were traveling by jeep. Mason knew this thanks to Michael’s insiders. The road was deserted at this time of night so when the first sign of headlights flashed, Mason knew it was them.

  Michael was on the other side of the road. He trusted him to do his part. They would converge on the jeep, catch the Arions off guard, hopefully wounding them enough to slow them down, and pull Roger out.

  Mason counted to ten from the first instant the jeep came into sight, just as he and Michael had planned. Then, he moved with the speed of wind and the lightness of air.

  He and Michael reached the jeep at the same time. Tad was driving, which put him on Michael’s side. Even in the midst of battle, Mason felt a sting of regret for missing that matchup.

  Mason took McIntyre, who sat in the passenger’s seat, nai
ling him with three bullets to the chest. He heard Michael’s shots, felt the jeep jerk to a stop.

  Michael had control.

  McIntyre held his bloody chest, gasping for mental control of the pain, which he would get in mere seconds. Checking for Tad, needing to know with certainty he was down, Mason found him slouched across the steering wheel.

  Michael had hit him in the temple with several bullets. Tad might not survive. Likely, wouldn’t. Even Arions, if hit in the right spot, died like everyone else. The head, the temple to be precise, was one of those spots.

  Michael didn’t screw around. A good thing, since Tad was damn powerful. Of course, Michael knew that going into this mission and probably chose his mark accordingly when the opportunity presented itself.

  Mason reached for Roger, who was in the backseat, whimpering despite the tape over his mouth. The man was a complete loser. No fight whatsoever. Why Holly cared about him, he would never understand.

  Drawing a knife from his belt, Mason reached to cut the ropes around Roger’s hands. Roger dropped against the seat as if he thought Mason was going to cut him.

  “What’s the holdup?” Michael said fiercely. “McIntyre is moving.”

  “Give me your damn hands, if you want to live,” Mason spat at Roger through clenched teeth. And then, because he knew the man had probably been terrorized, but mostly because an image of Holly ran through his mind, he added a bit more softly, “I’m not the enemy.”

  He still didn’t move. Mason lost patience. He grabbed him, lifting him out of the jeep as if he was a paperweight. He was a fairly small guy and did little to test Mason’s Arion strength.

  Michael shot McIntyre again. This time in the temple. One shot, two shots. “Let’s go!” he yelled at Mason.

  McIntyre wouldn’t be following.

  But there could be other Arions nearby. They were close to Area 51. Again, Mason thought, too damn close for comfort.

  Tossing Roger over his shoulder, Mason had speed on his mind. He could carry Roger and still escape faster than any human could follow. Especially since he was so damn scared he wasn’t doing anything but shake.