by Zahra Stone
“Dispatch,” he whispered into my ear. Distracted by the warmth of his breath, it took me a couple of seconds to realize he was telling me we were in the dispatch room, where whatever it was that was produced here was packaged ready for delivery.
“Right,” I eventually replied, wriggling away from his distracting presence.
“I want to see the labs. Find out what they’re really working on here.”
“You don’t think it’s the cancer treatments they claim?”
“Oh, I’m sure they do produce those too, but I think there’s something else beneath the surface.”
I was just about to step out and head toward the door on the opposite side of the room when he grabbed my wrist. “Wait! Cameras.” He pointed, indicating two cameras in opposite corners covering the room. Damn.
“Wait here. I can put all the cameras in this place on a loop, then we can move around freely.”
“Won’t they see you?”
“I’ll be fast.” He winked and was gone, moving faster than I’d ever seen— or more correctly, not seen. Rather than a blur, he was a puff of wind. Invisible.
Less than a minute later, he was back. “Right. Cameras are no longer a problem. But there are security guards and some people working late, so we need to be careful. I’d rather they not know we were here.”
“Right.” My heart was pounding in my chest, and I sucked in a deep breath to try and steady the wave of anxiety that pulsed through me. This was real. This was dangerous. I’d faced vampires without fear, yet breaking into this place with the knowledge that it was either run by ghouls or ghouls were involved scared the ever-living shit out of me.
Nate must have been able to hear the frantic beating of my heart, but he didn’t call me out on it, just told me to stay close as he headed back the way he’d come at a more civilized pace.
We’d searched a couple of labs without turning up anything unusual. Nate gave me a list of drugs that he knew were legitimate, and I compared them with the vials I found in the glass-fronted refrigerators. They were a match, nothing out of the ordinary. In the third lab, we hit pay dirt. None of the drugs in the fridge were on my list.
“Found something,” I whispered, knowing his vamp ears could easily hear me. “These aren’t on the list. The label says Anate.”
“I knew it. This is it. I’m going to take a sample. Keep looking to see if you can find anything else.”
I did what I’d wanted to do ever since we’d broken in. Turning to a computer, I wriggled the mouse to wake it up, pleased that whoever had used it last hadn’t even logged out, let alone turned it off. Which meant one thing. They were still here. We’d have to hurry.
“This computer is still logged in,” I told Nate. “I’m going to do some digging, but I think whoever logged in is probably still in the building— they’d have protocols to follow. No one would leave without properly logging out.”
“Correct. Be quick.”
I began typing, searching for HR records. I’d just pulled up Mrs. B’s file when Nate opened the refrigerator door and removed a vial. Alarms blared, and I jumped in fright.
“Damn it,” he cursed, “the door has a trigger. Clever bastards.”
Ignoring him, I quickly scanned Mrs. B’s info while Nate grabbed handfuls of the vials and shoved them into the cargo pockets of his pants. Mrs. B was now a project manager, promoted when she returned from Redmeadows, working on Project Anate.
I was still reading when Nate grabbed my wrist and dragged me back toward the door. “We’re out of time.”
Then I could hear it too. Pounding footsteps. Running towards us. We cleared the door. It hadn’t even clicked shut behind us when Nate swung me up into his arms and propelled us out of the building, over the fence, and back to the car in the space of a heartbeat. I was shaking when he set me down by the vehicle.
“Okay?”
I must have looked as green as I felt. I nodded, not trusting myself to speak in case I hurled over his shoes. I was never any fun on carnival rides thanks to my motion sickness, and that quick joyride had my stomach churning.
“Get in.” Opening the door, he stood back and allowed me to climb inside under my own steam. I closed my eyes, leaning my head back, and concentrated on breathing. The car started, he spun us around, and we were off.
“Why so fast?” I asked, not opening my eyes. “They didn’t see us, can’t identify us.”
“No, but I don’t think it will take them long to figure out you were involved.”
“How?”
“Because you were looking at Mrs. B’s info. Who else would break-in, steal drugs, and look up one particular person’s file? You were at her house recently. You said that she’d given you an odd look—maybe she suspected you were on to her even then.”
“Fuck,” I whispered.
“Exactly. You’ve been compromised. I need to get you out of here.” Nate was driving like a maniac, but even though the speed was beyond fast, he had complete control of the car, and surprisingly I wasn’t yelling at him demanding that he slow down.
“What’s the plan?” I knew he’d have one. He was the type who had a plan for a plan.
“Pack a bag. We’re leaving.” He swung in behind my apartment with a squeal of tires. “I’m arranging transport.”
I didn’t argue, merely flung open the door and hurried upstairs. I pulled my suitcase from the closet and piled clothes in with no regard for their welfare. One part of me cried at how I was treating my designer threads; the other side knew I didn’t have time to even think about it. We needed to leave. Now. My sense of self-preservation was high, and fear was forcing my blood pressure through the roof. Snatching up my laptop and shoving it into my bag, I hefted the satchel over my shoulder and was out the door, banging the suitcase down the stairs behind me.
Nate met me at the bottom and stowed the case in the trunk without saying a word. His silence drilled home the gravity of my situation. We were in danger. The fact that he was evacuating me out of Maxxan spoke volumes. Shit had just got real, and the game I’d thought I’d been playing had turned sinister. Climbing back into the car, I put on my seatbelt and watched as he shoved the car into gear, turned off the headlights, and peeled out like the hounds of hell were after us.
“A chopper is on the way. It’ll pick us up at Rae’s place, less chance of being detected out there.”
“Right.” I wanted to sound as cool and calm as he was, but my voice betrayed me, the quiver giving away just how scared I was. His agitation was adding to my own nerves. If someone like Nate Wilder was worried, then we were in deep shit.
His hand landed on my knee and squeezed. “It’s going to be okay,” he reassured me.
“I know.” I tried to smile but failed, pretty sure I was just baring my teeth at him. He chuckled.
“Would you mind driving with both hands on the wheel?” At the speeds he was driving, it wouldn’t take much to lose control and flip.
“Don’t trust me?”
“Eyes on the road.”
He chuckled again but humored me, removing his hand from my knee, and returning it to the wheel, and facing front again. I released the breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.
It usually took me twenty minutes to drive to Rae’s place. We made it in ten. Nate stowed the car in the garage, plucked my suitcase from the trunk, and hustled me to the back of the house.
“Do you think they know about this place?” I asked, standing in the moonlight, my heart a wreck in my chest. I looked back at Grandma’s house. They’d better not touch it, I vowed, or I’d come back and rip their sorry hearts from their chests. Brave words for a vampire hunter who was currently scared shitless and trembling in her boots.
“Doubtful. The chopper will be here soon. How are you holding up?”
Throughout all of this, despite it, I felt safe with him. It was illuminating. Without noticing it, trusting Nate had snuck up on me. Despite the attraction I was resisting so valiantly. Despite all my mis
givings. I trusted him to keep me safe.
“I’m fine. I’m sorry I got us busted.” If I’d known he was going to drag me away, I would have made sure I’d exited out of Mrs. B’s records, but as it was, her picture had been smiling at me from the screen as I’d been pulled away.
“It was me who got us busted,” he corrected. “I didn’t think to look for an alarm on the refrigerator door. Clever. A level of security going beyond the norm.”
“You got plenty of samples, though, right? I saw you stuffing them in your pockets. They won’t break, will they?”
“These pockets are lined with Mylar.”
“What’s Mylar?”
“That silver stuff you find inside insulated bags. It’ll keep them cool, and it’s waterproof should they leak or break.”
It appeared the SIA had thought of everything. Sitting on the back porch, I stared into the darkness seeing nothing, my mind going over everything we’d learned. Our search for one ghoul had led us to accidentally discover my best friend’s mom was now a ghoul and a secret project manager at Stillwater Pharmaceuticals. People were going missing. It wasn’t a stretch to imagine Stillwater was using them in some sort of illegal experiments. And if they had to dispose of bodies, ghouls were an excellent way to do it. My stomach churned, and I blinked rapidly to still the sudden urge to vomit.
“You okay?” Nate sat next to me, close but not quite touching.
“Struggling to get my head around the ghouls,” I admitted. It was only a few days ago when I’d been merrily hunting vampires and feeling pretty cocky at my own prowess. Now I was not only working with one, but I was starting to trust him, and worse, like him. All my life, I’d listened to my dad and uncles telling us how awful vampires were. They’d killed Grandpa. Hurt Rae. They were evil bloodsucking creatures who must be destroyed. Yet here I was, joining forces with the very being I’d sworn to kill and discovering that maybe, just maybe, everything I’d been told as a child was wrong.
“Could I make a call?” I needed to talk to Rae.
“Sure.”
I moved away so he couldn’t overhear and then laughed at myself. I could stand two miles away, and he’d still be able to hear if he put his mind to it. Sensing my need for privacy, Nate stood. “I’m going to check the perimeter. I won’t listen in.”
“Can vampires read minds?”
“No. But I can read you like a book.” With that, he was gone, and I was standing in the moonlight, the sound of crickets chirping and a soft breeze ruffling my hair. So peaceful yet at total odds to the anxiety churning inside.
I dialed.
Rae answered after one ring. “Paige, how're things? I hear you mastered flaming brilliantly.”
“Yeah. Good.” Should have known Nate had kept her updated. I cleared my throat. “I wanted to…ask you something…talk to you about something…”
“Sure, what’s up?”
“You remember growing up and our dads drumming into us that vampires are bad, evil bloodsuckers?”
“Ahhhh. Nate Wilder.” I could picture Rae nodding her head, a brief smile crossing her face. “You’re conflicted? Confused?”
“All of those things,” I whispered.
“Okay, let me lay it out for you.” Rae blew out a breath. “Our dads, our parents thought they were doing the right thing. Grandpa was killed by vampires, it’s true, but what they didn’t know, and neither did we until recently, is that there are your average everyday vampires, and then there are rogues. Rogues are the deadly ones, the ones who’ve gone off the reservation—for whatever reason. They kill for fun, for sport, for food. They can’t control their bloodlust—for whatever reason. Some of them it’s just their nature. They were probably addicts or had issues as humans, which carried over into their vampire life when they turned. Others were adversely affected by Rampage, turning them into blood-crazy vamps that can’t be controlled.
“I didn’t trust Nate at all when I started with the SIA, even though I had Jordan’s word that he was a stand-up guy. Yes, he’s rich, handsome, successful, powerful. Doesn’t mean he can’t be a douche. Then I came here for training and worked with him one on one and got to know him. He’s an okay guy, Paige. In fact, I’ve met a lot of vampires now, and they are all decent people.
“Our dads didn’t know better because the one who was meant to teach them about their heritage, their fire demon powers, and all the supernatural stuff didn’t. I don’t know why Grandpa didn’t give them that knowledge when they first came into their fire demon powers at eighteen. We’ll never know. He took those answers to the grave. When he was killed, our dads just assumed that all vampires were evil. And taught us that, too.”
I was silent, digesting what she’d said. It was true, we had inherited our parents’ prejudices, but it was hard to shake when it was all you had known ever since you were a child.
“You still there?” Rae asked.
“Yeah, sorry. I’m here.”
“I wouldn’t have given Nate access to the house if I didn’t trust him.”
“I kinda figured that but didn’t want to believe it,” I admitted.
“You can trust him, Paige.”
“I’m not sure it’s that easy.” I caught movement at the corner of my eye and saw Nate returning, pointing at the sky. “I’ve gotta go. Thanks for the talk.” I hung up and waited for Nate.
“Chopper’s coming in. Can you light up to guide it in?”
“Oh. Sure.” Following him to a clearing away from the house, I stood and waited until I could hear the helicopter myself and then lit up both palms and waved them over my head. The wind whipped dust up around me, and I squeezed my eyes shut but kept my fire burning until the helicopter was almost upon me. Extinguishing the flame, I moved back a few feet and watched as it landed, a big black machine, large rotors whipping the air with a whomp, whomp, whomp.
“Come on,” Nate shouted over the noise. He opened the rear door and threw my suitcase inside, then held his hand out to me. I placed my hand in his and let him help me on board. I’d never ridden in a helicopter before. I was amped on adrenaline and more than a little apprehension.
“Here.” Looming over me, Nate snapped a harness over my shoulders and around my waist, then slipped a headset over my ears. I saw him place my satchel beneath the seat opposite me and realized I’d totally forgotten to pick it up. I flashed him a grateful smile. I’d have been as pissed as hell if I’d left my laptop behind.
“It’ll take us a couple of hours to get to Redmeadows.” Nate’s voice came through the headset, and I swiveled my head to look at him. I hadn’t even noticed when he’d sat next to me and strapped himself in. There were six seats in the rear of the helicopter, two sets of three facing each other. He could have sat anywhere, but he sat next to me. When the helicopter jolted and started to rise, I sucked in a breath and spun my head to look out the window again, a shiver of nerves tightening my stomach.
“Breathe. You’ll be fine. It’s a perfectly safe way to travel.” His fingers wrapped around mine and, instead of snatching my hand away, I squeezed in thanks. For once, I was grateful for his presence. Rae’s words were still swirling around in my brain, and I knew she wasn’t feeding me bullshit. I was safe with Nate, and I could trust him.
The helicopter lifted up higher and higher and pitched to the left. I squeezed his hand tighter, and he gave me a squeeze back. I didn’t dare look at him for fear he was laughing at me.
“Paige?”
“Hmmm?”
“Look at me.” The way he said it, not an order, more of a request, had me obeying. I looked into those mesmerizing stormy grey eyes and felt like I was drowning, being sucked into a whirlpool that I feared I’d never resurface from.
“Why are you so scared?” He raised a hand to trace his finger over my cheek, and I shivered.
“I’m not scared,” I lied.
“Liar.” The corner of his lip curled, and my eyes zeroed in, my tongue stroking along my lower lip as I absently wondered wha
t his mouth would taste like.
“I’ve never ridden in a helicopter before,” I said breathlessly.
“That’s not what’s got you all worked up.” The timbre of his voice was low, vibrating through me. At that moment, I wished nothing more than to forget my past, my hate of vampires, and throw myself at him to quench the curiosity and undeniable attraction burning through me. I hesitated, wanting to lean forward and touch my lips to his, but another part held back, unsure if I wanted to go down this path.
Chapter Thirteen
The seconds stretched on, the silence heavy, until he blinked, looked beyond me into the dark night outside the window, and then leaned back as if that intimate moment hadn’t happened. Leaving me more confused than ever.
I hadn’t noticed him bringing a bag on board, so when he rummaged inside a backpack and withdrew a laptop, I couldn’t help but stare. He busied himself with what I could only assume was SIA business. I must have dozed off because the next thing I knew, Nate was shouting, slamming the laptop shut, and grabbing my arm.
“What’s happening?” I blinked, groggy. Alarms were blaring from the cockpit, and the helicopter suddenly swung around, its tail spinning us in wild, crazy circles.
“We’re going down!” the pilot yelled.
“What? We’re what?” I screamed, clutching at Nate, who was in the process of releasing his safety belt. “What are you doing? Strap yourself in!”
“We’re going to crash. Brace yourself.” Before I could ask what in the hell he was talking about, he was out of his seat and draped over me, his arms wrapping around my headrest, so my face was buried in his chest, his knees clamped tight on either side of my hips. He was shielding me. Protecting me.
We went down fast, yet it happened in slow motion. The sound of the engine whining, the blades slicing through the air but only succeeding in spinning us in dizzying circles on a downward trajectory. I could barely breathe with my face pressed into Nate’s chest, but that didn’t matter; since I was screaming long and loud, I didn’t have time to breathe anyway.