Me too. I’m calling Liam now and arranging a Council meeting in Morefield. We’ll have to liaise with Indy over that.
Maybe have a location in between where both Councils can meet up when discussing security issues and plans on how to defend both places.
Good idea. I’m heading out to Indy’s now. Love you.
Love you too.
“Could this be a change in tactics? Going after kids instead?” Roman asked.
“No. They’re diversifying,” Euan answered. “Keep up the experiments. Learn what they can, but try other avenues too.”
“Deac knows. He’s meeting Indy now.”
“Logan’s double checking vehicles now. He thinks there has to be some way they are keeping tabs on the vehicles. If they want a baby, then they have to know where that baby is.”
“Or the parents. Most parents stay with their child for the first year of life. I’ve noticed that difference here. Most moms stay at home longer. I think they would take them when there are no others around, kill the parents, and dump their bodies.” Costas almost gagged at the thought. Even though he was a doctor, the thought of someone killing another so they could take their child sickened him. “It makes sense to do it that way. Maybe make it look like an accident or they simply took off.”
“There are a multitude of ways they could work this. If you hadn’t spotted this, we would still be in the dark.” Euan clicked a couple links on the computer. “Hunter might be on to something. We’ll have to wait and see.”
The door opened, and a man Costas had only met once before entered. Long dark hair and dark eyes, he walked over to Euan and leaned over him, his eyes scanning the screen. He grunted then stood and held his hand out to Costas and then Roman. “I’m Ale.”
Costas knew he and his mate, Troy, were moving to Salutem. “Costas.”
“Deacon’s mate. It’s nice to meet you. I’m a little behind. Want to catch me up?”
Roman nodded and filled Ale in with what they knew. “Hunter? Any leads?”
“Maybe. I’ll have to leave it with Carter. I’m heading out to the fires.”
“Stay safe.”
“Always.”
“Carter? Is that Hunter’s mate?” Costas asked. So many names he needed to remember.
Ale smiled. “He is, and they are a formidable team too. He’s better than Hunter, just don’t tell Hunter I said that.”
Euan chuckled. “What’s it worth?”
“Me not setting Troy on you.”
Euan coughed. “Your secret’s safe with me.”
Costas let their voices drift over him as he concentrated on the files he was busy searching through. Now that he had an idea of what files to search, the process sped up considerably. Twenty quickly became thirty until he had a list of thirty-three babies. All under one year old.
Babies. Easy to control parents when you threaten their children. Something Costas knew all too well. Easier to dispose of once they had the child. The parents become excess baggage. He carried on searching, trying to find out when the search began. If Alvarez suspected what they intended to do, then Costas could work out a possible date from when all children under the age of five were moved to this separate system.
He might have died to keep the children safe. He might have been forced to help this A.S. if they’d threatened the young of Salutem.
“Do you think they forced Alvarez into helping them? Did they kill him because he wouldn’t let them have the babies?” Costas asked and looked up at the men around him.
“Could be the case.” Euan shrugged. “He still betrayed us. He could have come to us and told us what was happening. We could have helped with his daughter. We still know next to nothing about her.”
Ale shook his head. “Not with locations being bugged. If he knew about them, but not where they were, he would have been forced to keep his mouth shut.”
“He could have sent Indy a note.”
“Who could he trust? See this from his point of view. He had no idea who had been compromised. For all we know, he could have been told there were multiple spies here. Poor bastard didn’t know who he could turn to.”
Euan winced. “Yeah, I guess. Never thought about it to be honest. There’s so much going on that we’re always reacting.”
Ale pulled up a chair and leaned forward with his forearms on his thighs. “We know they operate under A.S. We know that they have multiple levels within their organization, and information is passed on a need to know basis. Hundreds of locations, if not more, scattered throughout the country. They would need to have a main location within each state, if not more than one. Every organization has a main HQ then multiple smaller ones. We need to find one of those.”
“Needle in a haystack,” Costas whispered. “When I was held, I never heard how they operated. I was a prisoner. My only job was to test the...subjects and note their responses.” He sucked in a lungful of air, visions of the things he’d been forced to do floating through his mind. He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up into Ale’s understanding eyes.
“We’re forced to do things we never thought we would to keep those we love safe. No one blames you, and those that do can fuck off.” Ale shook his head. “Fucking idiots.”
Euan chuckled. “With Ale’s size twelve up their ass.” He stood and walked over to one of the white boards and wrote on it. “Main locations. Smaller locations. Links throughout state and to other states.”
Something’s wrong.
Costas tilted his head and waved his hand to get the attention of the others in the room. What?
We had a call come in about a fire at one of the houses under watch.
A fire? Costas stood. “A fire.” Who?
Lauren Bell.
She’s on the list. “Lauren Bell’s house is on fire.”
“Let’s go.” Ale stood and quickly left with Euan.
“You go. You’ll be needed. I’ll monitor from here, and Ish is on his way in with Jerome.”
Costas nodded and ran to his car. He kept a medical bag in there so if he was needed, he could assist in any way. I’m on route behind Euan and Ale.
Stay safe. I’ll meet you there. The girls okay?
Yes. They’re with Darrell, Jake, and Ted.
I don’t want them to be a target.
Jake won’t let anyone near them.
He drove as fast as he could, keeping an eye on the road behind him. He wouldn’t trust them to try something now when they knew they would all be rushing to help. He’d never been given any information while they held him, but he knew they’d exploit any situation for their own gain.
He’d seen it so many times while he’d been held, how they would use one shifter against the other. Make one hurt so the other would beg for them to stop and then start hurting that shifter instead. Some of the guards loved to inflict pain, loved to see the fear in his and his daughters’ eyes, and they were human.
The things done to shifters...he didn’t want to think about. He could still hear their screams of agony, still see the look of fear on their faces. He’d tried to whisper to them, to beg for forgiveness, but then he was punished and his daughters threatened, and he’d backed away. It shamed him even now, but there had been little he could do about it. He could help those here and now and stop A.S. from harming others.
He couldn’t let them get hold of a baby. God knew what they would do to it. What would they raise? It was bad enough the experiments they conducted, trying to create hybrids. They’d succeeded with Owen. What if they’d produced more? What if they kept doing it?
He saw the fire as he neared the house, the bright orange and yellow flames shooting into the sky. He pulled farther down the street and grabbed his medical bag before jogging as close as he could safely get to the scene. From there, he stood and waited.
Deac?
When there was no response, he tried again. Deac?
Still nothing. Deacon? Answer me! Please!
Still nothing. What t
he fuck was going on?
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
DEAC DROVE TO Lauren Bell’s house, testing the brakes of his truck with the speed he was driving at. He had to get there as soon as he could. He had to try and save the family inside, if they were even still alive. He had no idea what he was heading into.
Had this A.S. group already killed the family and taken the baby? Was this fire a way to destroy evidence? Or had it been an accident, and he was overreacting? His head was a mess as different scenarios raced through it. Too much was going on, and every single event was being examined, even when there was nothing to report. Were they jumping at shadows?
His hands gripped the steering wheel as he overtook a slow moving vehicle, ignoring the blare of its horn. He raced down the road and shot around the corner, his truck tilting dangerously. He tightened his jaw and shot forward, ignoring the squeal of tires on the road.
He looked up, seeing the flames in the distance, and hissed. The fire was out of control, and he heard the sirens of the fire brigade as they raced to the scene. He hoped the family was safe, but he knew if he could see the flames from where he was, then there was a chance they weren’t.
The closer he got, the higher the flames were with thick, black smoke filling the sky. He rounded another corner, and he was finally there. He screeched to a halt and jumped from his truck, running down the road to where Indy and Teal stood.
“We need to get in there!” Teal shouted over the noise.
Indy nodded. “Shift. We’ll be lower to the ground and hopefully away from most of the smoke.”
All three jogged around a corner and quickly stripped then shifted into their animal forms. Deac sneezed when he inhaled smoke, but he ignored the itch and followed Indy and Teal inside. The air was thick with smoke, and the sounds of the fire surrounded him. The snap and crackle as items burned, the heat almost smothering in its intensity.
With a thick fur coat, Deac heated up quickly, but he was below the majority of the smoke. He could hear the firemen outside, shouting instructions to get the hoses attached and ready to go. He continued through the house, found the stairs, and ran up them.
He shook his head when he made it into what was the baby’s room and jumped up to see inside the crib. He found it empty and sniffed around the room, but his sense of smell was shot. Trotting out, he found the parents’ bedroom...and the parents. He stopped near the father but didn’t recognize him. Hard to with half his face gone. No doubt from a gunshot wound. The mother was in a similar condition. He closed his eyes briefly and heard a howl and knew he had to leave.
Deac. He ignored Costas, his focus on leaving alive.
Just as he was turning, a blanket under the bed caught his eyes, and he sniffed around it then gently picked up a corner between his teeth and pulled it away.
Deac.
There was a baby. A girl. He nudged her and quickly shifted, immediately coughing when he sucked in a lungful of smoke.
He picked her up and was amazed to find she was alive and asleep. How the hell could a baby could sleep through this? He had his answer when he saw a needle drop out from the blanket. He picked it up and carefully left the bedroom.
Deacon? Answer me! Please!
At the top of the stairs, he realized he couldn’t get out. The flames were licking up the stairs, coming closer to him. He went back into the baby’s room and slammed the door shut behind him. Running to the window, he opened it and shouted out.
“Here! I have the baby!”
He watched the firefighters get a ladder over to him, and he passed the baby over the firefighter who swiftly climbed up. He saw Costas standing on the sidewalk. I’m safe. See to the baby.
Costas ran over to the firefighter and immediately checked her out as Deac climbed down the ladder, ignoring the fact that his ass and tackle were out there for everyone to see. When he reached the bottom, Teal handed him his clothes, and he ran over to Costas. Indy stood with him and watched as Costas treated the baby girl nestled in blankets to keep her warm.
“Parents are dead. Shot, but they hid her under the bed. It looks like she was sedated.” He handed the syringe to Indy. “I can’t tell you what happened up there. The room was a mess, and the smoke hid everything from sight. I don’t know if they let them drug the baby then decided to fight or hid her to protect her.”
He shoved his legs into his jeans then moved next to Costas. “How is she?”
“We need to get her to the hospital and have that syringe tested.”
“You think it’s the same stuff we have in the lab?”
“It looks like what I had to use to anesthetize shifters.” Costas straightened when the paramedics arrived and handed her over, explaining the situation.
Deac stood and watched in awe as his mate took control. Calm and collected, he treated the baby with the paramedics assisting. Teal touched his shoulder and nodded toward the side. Deac followed, pulling his T-shirt and jacket on.
When he joined Indy and Teal, he leaned on the wall, pulling his socks and sneakers on. “It was a mess up there. The dad’s face was gone. Close hit, max damage. The mom too. The smoke covered too much for me to see, but it looked like the room had been ransacked.”
“Downstairs too. They must have known we were coming, so they torched the place to cover their tracks.”
“Why leave her? They risked their lives coming here, and then they leave the baby after killing the parents.” Teal watched the fire and shook his head. “It doesn’t make sense. They made a clean getaway, but they left the baby.”
“A warning, perhaps,” Deac murmured. “We can come and go whenever we want, regardless of what you do.”
“They must have a way in we know nothing about.” Indy watched the flames shoot into the sky. “What am I missing?”
“What are we missing?” Teal nudged Indy. “We’re in this together.”
Indy nodded and scuffed the ground with the toe of his boot. “There must be something. What more can we do to protect our residents?”
“From above or below.” Deac looked at Indy and Teal. “Unless someone is giving them access or keeping them informed about what we’re doing. Anyone with eyes will see we’ve altered security. Hell, they could be watching us and noting the changes too. Even when we think we’re being unpredictable, there is still some predictability involved.”
Teal blinked. “Huh?”
“We’ve changed teams, changed routes, and times.” Indy stared at the diminishing fire.
“But do we rotate back to the start after so many weeks?”
“We do,” Teal whispered. “I think it’s a four week shift pattern.”
“Then we need a program that randomizes it completely.” Deacon winced when a window shattered. “Get one of the Dynamic guys to do it. How’s their business going since the move?”
“I’ll speak to Jerome. Business is good. Renewables are in demand right now, and they’re branching out into IT security.”
“Nine of them, yeah?” Deac asked.
Indy glanced at Deac, a frown on his face. “Why the questions?”
“I’m sorting the Council for Morefield, as you know, and that will include security. I might need to borrow someone.”
“Borrow? You mean steal?”
“Borrow, steal, whatever. I need—here’s Costas now.”
Costas approached and immediately walked into Deac’s arms. “She’ll live. It might have been different if you hadn’t got there in time.”
“It was blind luck.” Indy rubbed his face. “We need to do more.”
“Like what?” Costas asked softly. “If they want to come here and take shifters, they’ll find a way. They are determined to find out everything about someone and then use it to their advantage.” Costas buried his head in Deac’s neck, and Deac tightened his arms around him.
“Costas, I’m sorry—“
“They want to know everything, Indy.” Costas raised his head and stared at Indy. Deac watched him, seeing the emotions flicker
over his face. “How many types of shifters, numbers, adults, children. When you shift, how long it takes, what damage you can tolerate. I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know.”
“I feel like we’re failing.” Indy winced. “How can we keep the people safe when this A.S. group can come in whenever they want? What more do we need to do?”
“We need to have more posts between the two areas.” Deacon kissed Costas’ cheek. “Cabins with a security detail inside. We can monitor the land between Morefield and Salutem. I need to get a place just for security within Morefield and then link ours and yours up. I’ve got Elliot running that side of things, but fuck knows what he’s doing.”
“Are you sure he’s the right man for the job?” Teal asked, then winced at another explosion from the burning building.
“He’s ex-SEAL.” Deacon grimaced at Teal. “Ask Vir what he endured and then triple it for Elliot. He has the knowledge, and we need more people like him to help. Ale working with Troy on patrols will help. They can keep in constant contact. We need the mated couples, but they have to have experience too.”
“We have a handful that we’re rotating, but you’re right.” Indy sighed, his eyes still on the fire that was now slowly being extinguished. “We take two steps forward then three back.”
“The issue is the more people you bring on board, the greater the risk of leaks occurring.” Costas licked his lip. “Mated couples are the way forward and those with knowledge of security. Arrange a meeting with the whole team and get their input. They have the expertise that you don’t have, Indy. Vir, Ish, and Euan do. Ale, too, now that he’s here. They should be your go to here. In Morefield, it’s Elliot, but I’m sure he’d know others.”
“Can you remember anything more about your time with A.S.?”
“I wish I did, but I was a prisoner too, just treated a little better. I always had a guard with me to watch what I did. If they even suspected I was up to something, they’d hurt me or my girls. I’m sorry, but I couldn’t risk them.”
“No, I understand.” Teal ran a hand through his hair. “The fire’s under control. Let’s go home and meet up again.”
Waiting for You Page 9