by Anne Marsh
The bird whipped erratically as the pilot shot out of the last canyon and abandoned low-and-evasive for climbing fast and hard. The sun was dropping steadily beneath the horizon, the light going quick. Wind had picked up on the ground, too, so between the sunset and the wind, they were going to have brown-out conditions on the ground. If they even made it to the ground in one piece.
"Shit." The lieutenant cursed as she squeezed off rounds. The deafening roar of the Vektor bounced off the sides of the chopper. "Secure the card, Morgan. Do it."
Between the devil and the deep blue. Before she could second guess herself, Ria popped the memory card out of the camera, unzipping the front of her flight suit as she considered her options. Then slid the card into her bra cup. The cold, hard poke of plastic was a wake-up call she could have done without.
The chopper shuddered, jerking hard as something heavy slammed into the tail.
"Check six," Reece growled. "We've got to hurry."
The pilot cursed. "Roger that."
He'd got them up to ten thousand feet now, which meant engine power was dropping off. Fast. Their ride was meant for recon, not high altitude. Reaching around her, Reece released the protective webbing on the west bay door. "I'll lay down cover on the east side. You're out the side. Count fifteen and pull the handle."
"We can go higher, fly out of this." Ria stared at Reece, willing the other woman to agree with her. She couldn't jump. No way.
"No." Lieutenant Reece kept it short and sweet, fingers unhooking Ria's protective harness from the side of the chopper. Oh, God. "Get your ass into that bay. On my count, you jump. Feet down. Arms in. Clear the plane, count it down to forty and then I pull the cord. And, Morgan?"
"Yeah?"
"You don't jump, I push."
"Do it quick," she said and Reece nodded. The bird jerked hard again and she steeled herself for the jump. Because it was jump or die and she wasn't ready to die.
Vkhin's headset crackled, coming alive, as the slim figure ejected in slow motion from the open chopper bay. Ten thousand feet up, but his view from the helo was still ringside. The gloved hand hitting the small of the jumper's back had him growling. That hand had touched her. He knew the body falling free of the chopper. Not as well as he wanted, but he'd been watching her for the last month and Fallen intel said she'd gone up in the plane. One pilot. One ride-along MVD agent. And Ria Morgan.
Ria's body cleared the chopper and he fought his instinctive reaction. That bird was going down and he didn't want her anywhere near the wreck. He'd warned Zer and the other Fallen that MVD was getting too bold, making moves that would take the human police division right into Fallen territory. Looked like he was going to have the proof he needed. Unfortunately, his professional responsibilities here were at war with something more feral. Possessive. Ria Morgan was his.
She might be a card-carrying member of MVD and an enemy hostile in his territory, but he wanted her. A rogue dropped away from others going after the chopper, circling back around the protective fire Ria's human companion was laying down. The gunner laid in counter-fire and the rogue dropped. If Ria was lucky and the other MVD agent was a good shot, Ria just might make it to the ground.
Good. He commed in on his headset. "I've got a visual. One jumper. Rest of the crew is staying put. I'm going closer."
Punching in his new coordinates, he drove the helo towards the chopper without waiting for confirmation from base.
His response to Ria was irrational. She was a backroom operative, a desk jockey. Smart as a whip—he wouldn't make the mistake of underestimating her brain—but she pulled her nine-to-five and left the dirty stuff to MVD's field agents. She went into that office building every morning, real punctual. She stopped briefly to pick up a mocha—guilty weakness—and a doughnut, while he knew the same untouched energy bar banged around in the bottom of her over-sized purse every morning. She favored slim pencil skirts and buttoned up white blouses in real soft syn-cotton that clung to her breasts beneath the oversized cardigans she wrapped around herself because she was always cold. A sexy skirt and blouse like that just begged for four-inch heels, but, no, she paired the ensemble with an endless series of black ballerina flats. That mismatch intrigued him. Because, if she wore the flats because they were comfortable or she enjoyed them, what did that say about her taste in skirts? Those skirts cupped her ass, were made from soft fabrics that rubbed against her skin with every step she took, slid temptingly upward when she sat down at that desk of hers, crossed her legs, and leaned forward, going for the joystick controlling her drone. Those skirts were a sensual treat.
He just wanted to know who she was treating.
He, on the other hand, was a warrior, a hand-to-hand fighter who'd climbed into far too many trenches and done whatever killing needed to be done. He didn't need to be jonesing after a woman who clearly not only didn't know the meaning of down and dirty, but had no intention of ever leaving the pristine confines of her office. He respected MVD's field agents because those men and women put it on the line every day. Every weapon they strapped on, every fight they broke up or started—those were acts he could respect. Coffee and a doughnut were a whole different world.
So he shouldn't have wanted to slide the zipper on her skirt down, peel the soft fabric away from her even softer skin and spread her wide for his tongue. She wasn't his type. She was human. And she was off-limits.
Nevertheless, he couldn't stop watching her. He didn't think she knew he was there, or at least not that he was there for her. She had eyes and ears everywhere, because she was MVD's agent and he was one of Zer's lieutenants and a formidable player in the game the Fallen were playing. Not watching him would have been a mistake and he didn't think Ria Morgan made too many of those. He shouldn't have wondered, though, what it would take to coax her outside of her nice, safe office. What it would take to make her see him and not another target for her lenses and cameras. But he kept coming back, circling around her building and going places he knew she was watching because his own techs warned him her drones were overhead, unseen but tracking him through the sky.
Right now, things were game over for Ria Morgan.
Her face on his handheld haunted him and it shouldn't have. Ria Morgan had the face of an angel and Vkhin had seen more than his share. Her face wasn't a bold face. Chin tilted down, she looked up into the photographer's camera with a sexy pout. He'd have bet the wings he no longer had that the sexiness was accidental on her part. She was just looking when she was told to smile for the camera and sure, on the surface of things, she was fairly Plain Jane with shoulder-length brown hair. Pretty, but not beautiful by human standards. That hair of hers, however, hid shades of honey and her hazel eyes were ringed with just a hint of green. She was a surprise package just waiting to be unwrapped.
And it got harder every day—and night—not to unwrap Ria Morgan.
Running MVD's drone program gave her that creamy skin because she spent all that time indoors and not out, but there was a spray of freckles that teased him something bad. He wanted to follow that trail down, from her ear, over her collarbone; to see if, when he unwrapped her, laid her bare, she was hiding freckles from him elsewhere. That beautiful skin of hers would be sensitive. She had no idea how long he'd been watching her watch him, but, God help him, just the sight of the drones flying overhead got him hard now.
But at least the drones kept her safe inside where she wasn't going to end up hurt or worse. She needed to be kept safe from males like him. He smiled fiercely, a mere baring of his teeth. He wanted to hunt her, force her out of her shadows and into his world where he could have her.
Unfortunately, she was here, flying over the Preserves and shooting pics. It had to be something really good. Something tantalizing enough to pull her out of her nice, safe box and take the chance. Which meant it was something that could get her killed.
He'd be happy to teach her all about action and reaction and what happened when she took on the big boys. This wasn't a game. She'
d invaded. He'd defend. For one long moment, he let himself imagine taking Ria Morgan into his bed, stripping away all those clothes and the control she wrapped around herself. His mouth taking her as he dragged his tongue through her soaked folds. No. He forced his mind away from the erotic fantasy. She was pure weakness. His weakness.
Falling through the empty air, she looked impossibly fragile. Human. Her slim dark shape hurtled towards the ground, trailing a line from the chopper to her chute. One of her human companions would pull her chute for her. Good. He was betting jumping wasn't a skill she'd practiced real recent.
The Fallen handling comm duties pulled his attention back. "Negative that. Stay airborne."
Like hell he would. Almost out of fuel, he could turn around and head back—or he could put the helo down, quick and hard. Take his chances inside the Preserves. Go after Ria Morgan.
Yeah. That last option appealed.
"No." The jump line jerked and the chute shot open, pulling Ria up and back for a long moment before the wind caught her. She was drifting east, away from the wall. Vkhin adjusted his course. "I'm out. I'm setting the helo down."
The pithy curse on the other end pretty much summed up the FUBAR nature of this assignment. "You want backup?"
Because of the heavily warded walls, only a Fallen with wings or a helo could make it in and out of the Preserves. Out of fuel, he'd need a pick up or he'd be trapped inside the Preserves. "Not yet. I'm going to need a pick up."
"Roger that."
He sent the helo shooting over the canopy. Just west of him, MVD's chopper put up a valiant battle, the sharp retort of the Vektor chewing up the airspace. Some hits, too, but the only way to kill a former angel—Fallen or rogue—was to take the head off. Whatever damage the chopper's human crew was inflicting was only temporary.
The moment MVD's bird had crossed into the Preserves' air space, the intrusion had triggered a warning. Vkhin's mission here was crystal clear. Hunt down the chopper violating the Preserves' airspace. Destroy said chopper and take the humans out of the equation.
Of course, right now it looked like the rogues with wings were going to take care of the chopper for him. The rotor blade cracked as a rogue slammed into it. That hit was a suicide mission, yeah, but effective. The tail rotor failed as the rogue's weight blocked the blades and the chopper yawed hard right. The chopper had been pushing hard to gain altitude, and now the failure sent it spinning. Even at this distance, Vkhin could clearly hear the whine of the engine cutting out. Less than a minute later, the other aircraft was going down in a ball of fire. Coming down near him. He moved out, towards the dark column of smoke.
The chute disappeared beneath the canopy slightly east of the earth-bound chopper. He wanted to go straight to her, but he still had responsibilities. Logic dictated he check out the crash site first. He needed to verify that there were no other survivors—and that she'd left nothing incriminating behind her.
Damn it. He hit the throttle hard, gunning for the crash site. He got there first. Not the rogues who were going to be hunting her sweet little ass. Tree canopy ripped greedily at the belly of the stealth helo as he drove the small craft forward.
What did she think would happen when a manned MVD spy plane disappeared inside the Preserves? MVD couldn't cop openly to the mission, not without some serious proof of wrongdoing, which meant she had to know what she was doing now. That it was all on the line, because the only way she got out now was on her own or with a miracle. She couldn't be so fucking blind that she didn't know that. Maybe MVD would try to send a rescue mission for her. It was possible. His teeth clenched together. They could try. Only way she got out of here now was with him.
He was going to make that perfectly clear when he got his hands on her.
He only hoped she was ready for him.
He put the helo down hard, barely registering the jolt before he was out. Burning pieces of chopper rained down lazily around him, feeding the cold, lethal rage building inside him.
The comm barked back to life. "Are you in position for a look-see?"
"I've got visual on the crash site." He reconned the crash site rapidly, striding over to the smoking wreckage. The pilot had died in his seat, still webbed in. Equally clearly, the Vektor's owner had got out the door, but whether or not she had had enough altitude to deploy her chute was unknown. She was low enough to have hit the ground hard. Neither of them were supposed to be here. Both were threats to his kind.
As were the rogues circling back for a second round.
He hit the comm fast. "I've got incoming. I need to get in and get out. One dead human—two bail outs. Ria Morgan and a second MVD agent. Jumps were roughly ten minutes apart, so they didn't stick together."
A rough curse broke the silence on other end and then there was a pause with a whole lot of what-ifing going on in the background. "We've got a complication. We're tracking an outbound call from that chopper. Right before the pilot sent out his distress call, someone on board uploaded pictures."
Fuck. What had she seen? His jaw tightened. Because of course she'd seen something she shouldn't have. That was the whole reason for MVD to infiltrate. "What did she get?"
There was a brief pause and click of keys as the other Fallen worked the keyboard. "Sender went wireless and didn't bother with protection. Must have figured the airspace was pretty secure. I hijacked the session as it went outbound, so MVD's pretty much got nothing. Just the file headers."
"So MVD knows there's a flag on the play and the chopper caught something, but they don't know what."
"Check the chopper, then find the jumper, get the vidstick if she still has it and destroy it. Header file tells MVD what she had were images and gives them the size, but nothing too useful. They're going to need the source for that."
No word on getting his ass out of the Preserves but he hadn't expected it. If there was a way to do it and he was still sane, he knew Zer would do what he could. Otherwise, Zer was right where he needed to be. All locked up, good and tight.
"Why do her damned pictures matter so much?" Vkhin asked. He was already covering his tracks, about to move out, when the glint of metal caught his eye. Reaching out, he snagged a gold bracelet from the wreck. The fragile links had caught on the doorframe. The metal still carried her scent, but the skin warmth was gone from the thin metal already. Soon, the bracelet would be nothing more than a handful of bent links.
There was a pause on the other end of the comm and then Zer got on the line.
"We've already got a problem with rogues regaining their wings. Those wings are a get-out-of-jail-free card we can't afford. Photog got close-ups of the runes used to wing up the latest lot of rogues."
"You think someone else can recreate the process based on her pics?"
There was a pause and then, "I'm not taking that chance," Zer said grimly.
"We won't know until we see what she got. Track her. Bring her back to the base."
Vkhin didn't say no when Zer asked for something, which meant Zer didn't ask unless he needed the work done.
Hesitation colored the other Fallen's voice. "Doesn't have to be you who goes in."
"Someone goes. And I'm already here." He was okay with ending up dead. Hell, ending up dead was a best case scenario for him. Almost as good was staying put inside the Preserves. All he lived for now was the fight. Weapons were good. Nothing like pitting his blade against another's, the quick, determined slash of steel through skin and the sensation of flesh giving. Parting. Opening up for him the way nothing else did now. That was all good.
If he didn't make it back, that was good, too.
There was a pause and then his comm set came alive again, Zer's voice coming over the open line. His sire sounded pissed off. And accepting. Nothing new there. Life was a bitch and this was war. They both knew that battles demanded sacrifices. No problem. He'd be Fate's bitch today.
"No matter what it takes. Offer to bond with her. See what she wants." Bonding would make things simpler, because i
t would give Vkhin a direct in to her head. She'd be his to command.
On the other hand, he'd owe her one.
"I'll get the pics," he snarled. He didn't do bonds anymore. Not after the disaster he'd made of his last bond.
"Be careful," Zer said finally. "And that's an order, Vkhin. We're not the only ones after her. We're seeing rogue movement everywhere. They're fanning out, searching for her. It won't be long before they pick up her trail."
Ria Morgan wasn't a foot soldier. The odds of her having worked in the field, behind enemy lines, were slim to none and yet now she was the target of a massive manhunt. She was vulnerable and he didn't like that.
He pulled a blade.
Moving silently, he slipped slowly back into the darkest shadows wrapped around the crash site and the rogues' little meet-and-greet. He recognized the sound of the bastards' wings. Logically, he knew he should care. The rogues weren't supposed to have wings. That they did was a secret the Fallen had carefully guarded from the humans. Unfortunately, the soul thirst ruled him almost 24/7 now and all he truly cared about was that another, larger predator had made moves on his territory.
Not, he thought, savoring the rare glimmer of his long-gone humanity, that he hadn't been possessive before the soul thirst had got so bad. He'd been a fuck-up even before he'd come here.
Glancing over his shoulder, he glided over the hard ground, erasing his backtrail as he moved. He didn't want to be found. Couldn't risk further exposure because the Preserves were a prison for the most bestial of his kind and, like beasts, they'd turn on him and hunt him if he became too great a threat.
Still, leaving her here wasn't right. He might be little better than an animal now, but there was still something left that he could do before life finished kicking his ass and finished him.
Ria's face flashed through his memory. He was already shifting through the variables as he kicked the stealth helo into overdrive. The angle of the wind and her chute limited her possible landing sites. He'd find her and he'd take what he need.