“This isn’t like what you’ve faced before, Sid. It’s an entire conglomerate. I did my homework when I became Section Chief. I got access to more information.” Cyrus poked his head halfway out the window. “The Drake has many heads. Many names. Sure, you may have taken down a few of them—and you can beat your chest about that all you want—but you barely made it. Remember: every time, you almost died. The Drake and Kane, do you think they mourn their losses? No. It’s all a game to them. I’m telling you, they are worse than Congress. Hell, they are Congress, don’t you see?”
Sid pushed back into Smoke. “Let’s have a chat.”
“Now you’re thinking, Sid,” Cyrus said.
“Shut up.” Russ rolled up Cyrus’s window and his. He took a cigar out of his trench coat pocket, popped out the truck cigarette lighter, and began smoking.
“Do you mind? I hate smoke. Both of them,” Cyrus said.
“Shut up,” Russ replied.
Smoke and Sid walked away together until they stood at the top of the berm of large stones that led down to the river.
“What’s on your mind, honey?” Smoke’s eyes appeared larger now. His strong features were more pronounced, but in a good way, even with the fur.
“I have to admit,” she said, “I’m not too keen on walking into a death trap. I’d feel better if we had an army with us or something. I just want to wipe those bastards off the map.”
“Yeah, but we don’t have an army. It’s just us, Sid.” His brows knitted together. He shut his eyes. “There’s a beast inside of me that wants to be let out. I’m not going to lie. It’s difficult to resist. I’ve been fighting it off, Sid, every night, but I don’t have much time, I’m afraid.” He opened his eyes and took a breath. “Listen, whatever happens, just take care of yourself and little John Rich.”
“I was really hoping you wouldn’t talk like that, but I know I need to hear it. There isn’t any guarantee I’ll make it out of this either.” She wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned on his chest. “We have to win, John. We have to.”
“We will.” He snared her into his arms. “You feel good. A little too good, considering I’m in full beast mode.”
“It’s okay. I like it.” Her heart pounded. “Boy, do I like it.” She took a deep breath, held on a little longer with her eyes closed, then forced herself to break away. “What do we do about Cyrus?”
“His very name is ice water to the veins.” With his clawed hands draped on her shoulders, he said, “Well, he can’t go back without you. He told Kane you were dead. He doesn’t have anywhere to go.”
“You aren’t suggesting we let him go, are you? He almost killed me.”
“I know. And he’s going to pay for that. We just need someone we can trust to turn him over to.”
“You don’t think Russ can handle it?”
Smoke glanced over at the truck. The entire cabin was smoked up. “No. Maybe we just need to take him with us. It wouldn’t be so bad if it was daytime. I could change then. But tonight, with this full moon? Whatever happens is going to be ugly. I can feel it.”
“Maybe Mal and Russ can keep an eye on him. We have the flex cuffs. He can’t get out of those.”
“No, but he can be a distraction. He’s a weasel. He knows how to get into people’s heads.”
“And what about Rebecca?” Sid asked. “No doubt she’ll be killed, like he said.”
Smoke walked back over to the truck and knocked on the door. A plume of smoke rolled out when the window dropped. “Where’s Rebecca?” Smoke said to Cyrus.
He shrugged his narrow shoulders. “Home, I’d assume. Why?”
“You need to call her. Confess. It’s the only way to save her.”
Cyrus swallowed. He nodded. There was a shift in his composure. His body language changed. He cared for Rebecca, sincerely. Sid could see it.
Russ reached Cyrus’s phone through the window. Sid took it. “What’s the code?”
Cyrus sort of rolled his eyes. “One, two, three, four, five, six.”
“Oh geez, you really aren’t a mastermind, are you?”
“I haven’t lost one yet.”
After one ring, Rebecca picked up. “Cyrus, are you on your way home?”
Sid held the phone up in front of Cyrus’s mouth. “No, I’m tied up right now. Listen, Rebecca hon, can you come and meet me? We have to talk with some old friends of mine.”
CHAPTER 3
Rebecca’s face turned ashen. She sobbed in her hands. Shaking her head, she said, “This can’t be true. It can’t be true.”
Cyrus had confessed everything from the dealings he had with Kane to his attempt to kill Sid. The more he talked, the more he sank inside his seat.
“Just get him out of there,” Rebecca said to Sid.
“Why?”
“Because I’m going to kill him.” The petite woman’s saddened expression turned to fire and brimstone. She reached inside the truck, grabbed Cyrus by the collar, and jerked his head out of the window. “What were you thinking?”
“I did it for us!”
“You idiot! You don’t decide what’s best for me. I do!”
“Rebecca, you know Kane can’t be stopped. They don’t stand a chance. This is our big move! Really big.”
The little woman hauled back and slugged him in the jaw. “I hate you, Cyrus! You’re insane!” She kept hitting.
Sid pulled her away.
Spacey-eyed, Rebecca chewed on her fingernails. She’d checked out.
“Rebecca, you need to get to safety. I just wanted you to hear it from him for yourself. I’m sorry.”
“Sorry?” Rebecca’s chin lifted. “He tried to kill you. Don’t be sorry. You should have killed the bastard.”
“I’m not sorry for him, I’m sorry for you. You’ve been through plenty. I suggest you get somewhere safe.”
“Safe? Ha! You heard him. They must have eyes on me. If they have eyes on me, then they have eyes on you.” She started freaking out. “They have eyes on all of us!”
“Calm down.”
“Calm down, my ass. We’re all dead. I’m probably going to die by this crap-smelling river. I hate the water. Did you know that?” Her lips curled. “It smells.”
Sid had shown enough compassion for the night. She didn’t want anything to happen to Rebecca, even though the woman had been a pain. She couldn’t have that on her shoulders. The woman, though a little nutty, deserved a good life. She’d had to bring her face to face with Cyrus to get the truth. Rebecca never would have believed him over the phone. “Rebecca, we need to get you somewhere safe until this is over. How does FBI headquarters sound?”
“Like a trip to the morgue. But that dirtbag in glasses needs to be taken into custody. You need to press charges, Sid.”
“No, this is all off the books. Cyrus will get his once this is over.”
Cyrus sat in the truck, slumped over. His nose was bleeding. He sobbed. She’d never seen Cyrus cry before. His spirit was broken.
Why do I even feel sorry for him?
“The things you do in the name of love. Stupid things.”
It had been well over an hour since Kane checked in with Cyrus. Without a doubt, Kane would be onto them by now. As a matter of fact, Sid was surprised the phone hadn’t rung. It sent a chill through her. Smoke was right, Kane was ready. The final battle was about to begin.
Guppy and Sam popped over from the Bronco. “I’ve got a handle on our situation, Smoke, but you might want to move out of sight.”
Smoke took a spot behind the bridge’s support column just as a blue-and-white police car with its lights flashing pulled down into their spot. With the headlights glaring right at the small group, an officer stepped out of the car.
Guppy greeted him with a firm handshake. He walked the officer over to the truck. “This is Clive, an old military buddy.”
Clive appeared to be in his early forties. He wasn’t much taller than Guppy, but not in the best of shape. His uniform’s buttons were s
tressed. Carrying an air of authority and the swagger of a seasoned vet, he looked in the truck window. “That the guy?”
“Yes. He got a little rough with his fiancé. She called us and we called you,” Guppy said.
“I see.” Clive looked at Rebecca. “You going to make a statement? We need one if we’re going to hold him until you get your affairs in order.”
“Uh, yes, I’ll press charges,” Rebecca said, and her eyes slid between Sid, Guppy, and Clive. She straightened. “Yes, I’ll do it.”
“Alright. I’ll get my pad. Come with me, miss.”
Twenty minutes later, Clive handcuffed Cyrus and stuck him in the back of the patrol car while Rebecca sat in the front with her head down. With a wave, Clive drove away.
“He’ll take care of them.” Guppy puffed on his cigar. “Clive’s seen plenty of strange things. He gets the shadows. Macanudo, anyone?” He held up his stogie.
Sam snagged it from Guppy’s fingertips and flung the cigar toward the river. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“Have a smoke? It’s a big night, you know. Perhaps the—”
“Don’t say it, Guppy!” Sam rubbed her shoulder. “This entire night is nothing but bad vibes. I just don’t like it…at all.”
“We’re going to make it.” Guppy put his thick arm around her waist and held her fast. “That’s a promise.”
Everyone was geared up from head to toe. Guns were on hips. Knives were strapped to belts and inside boots. They all wore sweetheart suits.
Sid’s innards quivered. Somehow, she felt responsible for getting them all into this mess. The thought of her getting them hurt or killed wasn’t something she wanted to live with. But all of them had chosen to make their stand. They were brave. No one was going to be talked out of it. She scanned the open area under the bridge. The fine hairs on the back of her neck bristled. “Where’s Smoke?”
CHAPTER 4
“Smoke!” Sid called out. “John, you better get your ass back here!” Everyone looked high and low. Chins tilted. Necks swiveled. “John!”
“You probably don’t need to yell,” Cort said. “He’s got those giant ears, you know.”
“I’m fine,” Smoke said.
Everyone did a one-eighty. Smoke was behind them.
He shrugged. “What? I had to relieve myself. Even bats have to take a whiz.”
“Just answer the first time, will you, hon?” Sid stated.
“Of course, dear. Sorry, I didn’t mean to cause a panic.” Smoke adjusted the gun belt strapped to his hips. He wore dark fitness pants that were tight at the waist. His muscular thighs bulged at the seams. “I suppose the time has come.”
“Not so fast,” Guppy said. He hustled over to his Bronco and grabbed his laptop. “I have some good news and some bad.”
“There’s good news?” Sid said.
“Sure, hear me out. The jump drive that Smoke brought me held a great deal of useful information. So useful, in fact, I was able to find a back door into the Drake’s mainframe. I’ve been able to watch their entire operation. I can view what they view. I haven’t done it yet, but I can even access things.” He pecked on the keyboard with his sausage-sized fingers. “Right now, I have one of their primary monitors pulled up. See?” He set the laptop up on the hood of his car.
Sid and Smoke leaned over his shoulder. The others gathered around. There was a map on the screen, much like one that could be seen on Google Maps, but not a satellite view. Bright-yellow dots were lit up in several places. Many of them were clustered in one location.
“What are those dots?” Sid asked.
“Those are markers,” Smoke said. “That’s how they tag their people out in the field. They use satellites to track them.” He touched the screen with his pointy fingernail. “Looks like Kane’s gathered us a welcoming party.”
“Yes, the good news is I can see what they are seeing. The bad news is they can see us.” Guppy looked back at Smoke. “Er, you at least.”
“Me?” Smoke said.
Using the mouse, Guppy panned the image on the screen back. He shifted over to a spot in DC, hovering the mouse pointer right over their location. He zoomed in closer and switched the view to full satellite. “I’m playing back from a feed they ran earlier.”
Sid could see the bridge they were gathered under. “You mean they know we’re here?”
“Yes, but even worse, Kane has known where I’ve been the entire time. He’s been playing us. Well, playing me.” Smoke’s knuckles crackled when he bunched up his fists. “I was there, right under his nose. Face to face. I was Mack Brown, and he knew it was me the entire time. That even gives me chills.”
“Seems to be the case. It’s like Cyrus said, Kane is always a step ahead. But this time, maybe, just maybe, he slipped up.” Guppy started typing again.
“I feel foolish,” Smoke said to Sid.
Rubbing his arm, she replied, “Don’t. We’ve all been played since the first day we met. But they weren’t counting on one thing.”
“What’s that?” Smoke asked.
“That we would become one, giving us the one weapon they can’t conquer. Love.”
Holding her stomach, Asia said, “Either my sugar’s getting low, or that comment is making me sick. Where did you come up with that, The Young and the Restless?”
“I liked it.” Sam wiped the corner of her eye.
Cort Calhoun peeked up in the sky. “If they know where we are, you’d think they’d just drop a bomb on us.”
“That’s the whole point. They don’t think we’re a threat. They’re daring us to come in,” Smoke said. “They want me to give in. And if I don’t, they’ll just kill us all. So, Guppy, you say you have an angle?”
“Everything has a weakness. In the cyber world, I pride myself on finding it. In this case, it might be so easy they don’t suspect it.” He started typing. “Being an old organization, they aren’t so fond of technology. They don’t trust outsiders either, so much of what they do is off the record. So, I’ll freeze some of the surveillance loops they run. Like on most cheesy shows on television, I’ll make us appear to be locked in our location. That should give you a few hours to get inside before they realize what happened. All you have to do is say when, because I’m pretty sure they are wondering what in the world we are standing waiting for.”
Smoke fingered his earpiece. “You need to get everyone else miked up, Mal. Once we’re in, you can be the eyes for us.”
“There’s a lot of markers in there, John.” Sid pointed out some yellow markers on the laptop screen. “Do you think those are other shifters?”
“I don’t know. I’d hoped we’d taken most of them out, but apparently not. Whoever or whatever pops up, it’s shoot to kill.”
“I know you have wings, but I don’t want to leave your side.”
He covered her hands in his. “I know, but I’ll have to go in first. We need to put that place in the dark. Shut down the generators. I know where all of that is. I think I can slip in if I have a distraction.”
Guppy cracked his knuckles. “I can toy with their power grid. Maybe get those lights out for a bit.”
“Do what you do.” Smoke stretched out his hands. “Huddle in, everyone. It’s time to pray.”
CHAPTER 5
Kane stood in the upper office of the power plant, staring through the wall of glass that overlooked the river. The oversized moon hung in the air with a dazzling hue to it. Wearing his typical black slacks and white dress shirt, he basked in the light. Hands crossed behind his back, he said, “This is what it’s all about, Allison. The night. The hunt. The kill. I may have lost many close associates in this game, but I revel in it. This has been the best, as far as I remember. There’s been no better rival than your dear sister and Mister Smoke. Are you ready?”
Allison lay in a cozy position on the leather sofa. She held an antique hand mirror, admiring herself. She combed her fingers through the thick waves of her hair. Her feline face was sensual and exotic. S
he held out her long, sinewy arms in display. They were covered in tiger stripes and fur. A hungry smile crossed her face. “I’m so gorgeous, and far more deadly. I could rip these coming saplings apart with my bare hands. Of course I’m ready.”
Kane turned. “So, no qualms about slaying your sister?”
“We’ll see what happens. But with all of those shifters out there waiting, do you really think we’ll have a confrontation with them?” She set the mirror down. “I thought this was going to be another one of your sadistic reality shows for the Drake?”
“Our sadistic reality show, Allison. We’re in this together now.” He made his way over to the mahogany bar and filled a tumbler half full of Baker’s small batch bourbon. “Don’t think for a moment I won’t send you out to finish off your sister, Allison. You’re still ripe. It’s important that the blood in your veins doesn’t run warm anymore.”
“My blood was cold long before you did this to me. I’ll be fine. It’s you I’m worried about.”
Kane’s brows rose toward his hairline. “Me? That’s curious. I can’t think of anyone who ever worried about me before. Tell me, why worry?”
Allison sat up. “You’ve underestimated them before. They aren’t dead yet. Perhaps there’s more to them than what meets the eye. Maybe there are greater powers at hand.”
“Pah. Don’t be silly, Allison.” Kane approached the window, marveling at the moon. “The glow of Khonshu is ever strong tonight. The Egyptian god of the gods is with us. These mortal deaths are sacrifices to him. The full moon shall see red.” He spun on his heel and faced her, his face lit up with hunger. He dropped his gaze to her hands and frowned.
Allison’s long fingernails had popped holes in the leather sofa. She quickly pulled them out. “Apologies.”
“Oh, don’t worry. That piece of furniture is a leftover. I’ve been meaning to replace it for quite some time. It squeaks too much when you move.”
“What happens if they don’t show up tonight?”
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