He shook his head violently and wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans, fighting the urge to just grab her. She gave him a speculative look and started toward him. He backed toward the door.
“So, Jesse… You want to tell me what you’re doing here?” The clear accusation in her voice helped him focus. A little.
“Saving your ass, Princess. Let’s move.”
He turned, making for the back door— and that was when he realized his mistake. He’d never thrown the bolt. The door stood open, and at least three men were crowding into the hall.
“Out the front,” he snapped, “and just keep going. I’ll take care of this riff-raff.”
“As if. I’m not going to just leave you.”
“Leave,” he gritted out. “If another one of those vials break, I’m not sure what will happen.”
“Oh.” He could hear Aster moving behind him toward the front of the building, heard a door snick open and then the clink of glass.
“Good point,” she said. And then she was back, shoving something into his hands. It was a mop.
He broke the handle over his knee and handed her the smaller end. He had the part with the mop head still attached. He sprang forward and hit the first guy full in the face with the grey stringy threads. There was a wet splat, a curse, and the air filled with the pungent sour odor of mildew and stale mop water. Which was a welcome relief. More air was coming in through the open door, which also helped. Jesse had a feeling he knew the reason for their momentary reprieve. These guys were still adjusting to the full force of that overpowering scent.
He smashed the first guy into the wall with his elbow and shoulder as he shoved past, managing to get the second one in the face with the mop as he did so. He was starting to like this weapon. He pulled back and spiked it into the guy’s midsection, doubling him over.
The third man stepped back, but Jesse sprang after him, cracking him in the head with the wooden handle. Twice. He went down, and Jesse whirled to see Aster bashing the first guy over the head and shoulders with her makeshift weapon. That guy was also out for the count.
Unfortunately, the second guy had recovered. Jesse made a grab for him, but he jumped out of reach. The man tried to swipe the mop handle from Aster’s hands, but ended up grabbing her around the waist and pulling her right off her feet. Which wasn’t really that hard to do. Aster was on the slim side.
“Back off or I break her neck,” he growled, but it looked more like the man was trying to cop a feel.
Aster yanked her arm free and clouted him over the top of the head. He roared, and Jesse sprang forward, getting there just in time to block him from slamming Aster into the wall. Jesse grappled with him, trying to get a grip on his arm, trying to break his hold on Aster, while she squirmed and screamed and bit.
Jesse winced and jerked back as the mop handle smacked him in the cheekbone. Fortunately without too much force. Aster managed to get their assailant with the next swipe, and a second later Jesse got hold of one of the man’s fingers. He bent it back and peeled Aster out of his hold.
“Run,” he grunted, but she whirled, swinging the mop handle at the side of the man’s head like she was up at bat. Jesse reared back as she connected with a solid thwack. She’d missed him by inches, he felt the breeze on his face as she struck. But the man went limp in his arms, so it was all good.
After that it was just a matter of dragging them all into the back yard and tying them up. He used the jeans of the one who threatened to break Aster’s neck for the purpose. Aster seemed mad enough to contemplate murder, so Jesse worked as fast as he could, not saying a word. Aster contented herself with kicking the one who’d grabbed her, and then went to retrieve her samples. She was poking around in the filing room when he came back inside.
“Let’s get out of here. That won’t hold them for long.”
“I want to check these files first.” She was laying files out on a desk and snapping pictures of the contents with her phone.
“Aster, we don’t have time for this. We have to go. We need a good head start so we can muddy the trail. Otherwise they’ll just track us.”
She gave Jesse a withering look. “Believe me, I know how to muddy a trail.”
Jesse felt his lip twitch. He had to give her that.
“Come here and help me with this. Dean is going to want these records. The computers aren’t networked, and I wasn’t able to get into all the files. This stuff is super secure. I did manage to clone some of them, but I want the information in these last three files.”
He opened his mouth to argue. Who knew if those guys were just the vanguard and Marten would be turning up any minute? She held up a hand and stopped him.
“Just shut up and do it, Jesse. I’m not leaving until I have these files.”
So he did. He was still having a hard time focusing. At least it gave him something to concentrate on besides bending Aster over that desk and—
“Work, Jesse.”
Right. He turned the page and snapped another shot.
Chapter 7
Doubled pawns refers to the phenomena which occurs when one pawn takes an opponent’s piece and ends up on the same vertical column as another pawn of the same color. Doubled pawns are typically weaker than pawns which are side by side, because they cannot defend each other, and the front pawn blocks the advance of the back pawn.
— From the Journals of Aster Ardennes
Jesse followed Aster into the motel room and glanced around. Only one king-sized bed. He rubbed his hands on his jeans and shoved them in his front pockets. He felt like a teenager working up the nerve to kiss his first girl.
“So this is where you’ve been hiding out? Somehow I thought you’d be more of a Marriot girl.” He hadn’t actually given the matter any thought at all, but he had to say something—anything—so that she didn’t realize just how awkward he felt.
“Don’t be stupid, Jesse. You know these places are much better for hiding than any of the major hotel chains.”
Jesse nodded and moved farther into the room. “I’ll give you that. I don’t suppose you have anything to drink around here?”
He really needed something to do with his hands, and he could use something to steady his nerves. His gaze drifted over her as she leaned down to place the samples in a mini fridge, which was doing amazing things for her rear view, especially in light of those thigh-high black boot things she was wearing. He’d never considered the Princess as even a remote possibility. No way would someone like her consider an outlaw like him. But here she was, smelling like that—
She turned and gave him a sardonic look, raising an eyebrow when she caught him eyeing her. She jerked her chin toward the top of the fridge where a cognac bottle sat taking pride of place. Busted. He just managed to hold back a wince.
She gave him a speculative glance that made his stomach tighten.
“You like cognac, Jesse?”
“Sure. Doesn’t everybody?”
He was more of a whiskey man, but in a pinch cognac would do nicely. He watched as Aster turned back and bent to complete her task. He was painfully aware that the new moon had passed only five days before, which made it way too close for comfort. And his erection. He was painfully aware of that too. He kept his hands fisted in his pockets, hoping to disguise the extent of the problem. He felt his shoulders curl in protectively. The whole thing was weirding him out.
Aster straightened after tucking the last of the vials into the fridge, still with her back to him. “I hope these samples didn’t get too hot next to my skin.” She reached for the cognac and stared pouring out a glass.
Here was where he should make some wiseass comment about her hotness, but he just couldn’t manage it. He gritted his teeth instead and shoved his hands deeper into his pockets.
She glanced back at him over her shoulder. “You okay, Jesse?”
Her perfect face had never looked more composed. Or intimidating. A thin cotton sweater defined the slim curves of her body. With her red-b
rown hair pulled back in a ponytail, her delicate beauty was accentuated. Even after her encounter with the net, only a few silky wisps escaped to frame her face. Jesse was way out of his league here.
“Jesse?”
Shit. He couldn’t look away. He swallowed and cleared his throat. “Yeah. I’m fine. Just feeling the aftereffects of that stuff, I guess. That scent, whatever it was.”
Aster rolled her eyes. “Tell me about it. Marten must be working on some kind of pheromone formula, trying to draw females to his pack.”
“That was Marten? I didn’t catch his scent.”
Aster shrugged noncommittally and handed him a glass. “Marten is working with the lab. I’m not sure exactly what he’s trying to achieve, but based on tonight’s little discovery… I’m thinking pheromones.”
Jesse took an incautious swallow and almost sighed with relief as the sharp burn of the brandy cut through the lingering remains of that overpowering scent. He glanced down at the amber liquid and gathered his nerve. He could do this.
He glanced up and met Aster’s eye. “I think it’s probably more of an artificial mating scent. It doesn’t seem to be aimed at only females.”
“Oh, really?” That one eyebrow went back up and Jesse had to fight a flush. She took a sip of her cognac and watched him over the rim of the glass. He felt heat begin to climb up his neck. Only the Princess could unnerve him like this. He wasn’t convinced she was actually interested. But if she was…
It’s just the scent, Jesse. Don’t get crazy. Did you hear the one about the Princess and the outlaw? When she comes to her senses, the joke will be on you.
But if she came over here, if she so much as touched him—
She took a step forward and clinked her snifter to his hotel tumbler with a sharp click.
“Thanks for getting me out of there. I owe you. I’m assuming my brother sent you?”
“Yeah. Well actually, it was Dean who found the lab.”
“Dean?” Aster’s chin came up and she gave him a sharp look.
“Yeah, he wanted some samples from a place on Crowin Avenue. The medical building?”
Aster nodded. “What did you find? I was there the other night, but the samples I was looking for were moved.”
“No idea. We had to unlock the refrigerators though, so I guess it was something important. I sent the samples back to Dean.”
“Huh. Locked refrigerators. They weren’t like that when I was there.” She tapped a finger against her lip, drawing his attention to her mouth. “So tell me, Jesse. How was it you turned up tonight? Just at the right time.”
He blinked and moved his eyes from her mouth. “Um… I tracked you. I picked up your scent in the parking lot. Or rather,” he glanced down, “your boots.”
“Oh. Right.” Aster glanced down at them too, and he could have sworn she blushed. “You tracked my boots? That’s pretty bad-ass, Jesse.”
“That’s me.” Jesse smirked, feeling himself relax into the familiar role. “Bad-ass all the way. So what were you doing in that parking lot, Princess?”
Aster sat on the bed and began removing those long black boots, peeling them down like stockings and revealing her long, slender legs beneath. The sight was extremely erotic. Thank the Maiden she was wearing jeans, because if they were bare right now after being exposed to that scent bomb—
Jesse swallowed, but couldn’t make himself look away. Aster took her sweet time and he had completely lost the thread of the conversation by the time she continued.
“I was trying to decide if I should go back and look for the samples again, or try the other lab. Obviously, I picked the one you found me in. Which reminds me. Did your family leave the Mont-Tremblant Pack?”
“What?”
“I found a reference to an A. Tyler in the files, and it’s kind of odd. The address is near here though. Do you think it’s possible they mean your cousin?”
That was so far from anything he’d been expecting, it was like a splash of cold water.
“Your little cousin is named Annabelle, right?”
The hair on the back of Jesse’s neck stood up. “Yeah. Why?” Annabelle was not quite sixteen. The idea that scientists doing this kind of research might have any interest in her—
“Let me see that. Where did you find the reference?”
Aster pulled her laptop from between the mattress and the box spring and flipped it open. He gave her a look but didn’t say anything. She answered anyway.
“I don’t like to take it with me when I go out.” She shrugged. “So I hide it.”
Jesse nodded, but he could care less about the laptop. He wanted to see those files. He sat next to her on the bed, ruthlessly suppressing the effect her proximity had on his libido. The Tylers had taken him in when he had nowhere else to turn. If there was some threat to them—
“Here,” Aster said, pointing at a reference added beneath two pages of medical jargon that he couldn’t make heads or tails of.
There were a lot of references to efficacy under different circumstances, lists of absorption rates for different subjects, notes on their corresponding ages, along with long lists of various hormone levels. But the thing that had his hackles rising was the notation at the bottom.
“A. Tyler identified as a possible donor for formula 309, and as test subject for series 248 – 253 regarding effects pertaining to lately-matured females.”
Jesse was still trying to wrap his mind around the implications of that when Aster clicked on another screen. It was a database with home addresses. A. Tyler was right there among the others.
“This database is supposed to be personnel of one of the clinics, but it was buried pretty deep, so that got me thinking. And the addresses are all over the place. How they could all work at the same clinic…”
Jesse leaned back and rubbed a hand over his jaw, feeling the scratch of two days’ worth of stubble. Annabelle wasn’t even close to a mature subject. She wasn’t quite sixteen yet. And last he heard, the Tylers still lived in Canada. But he’d been out of touch for months. It can’t be her. There’s no way. But he had to check.
He pulled out his phone and typed in the address. “I need to check this out, Aster. You going to be here when I get back?”
She gave him a smirk. “Probably not.”
Jesse blew out a breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Do me a favor and call Lucas. You brothers have been worried sick about you. And if I tracked you, that means Marten can too.”
Her smile broadened. “Not necessarily, Jesse. There aren’t many trackers as good as you.” She paused. “Or me. But I think you’re right. I think it might be time to bring in my brother on this. At the very least, I have to get these samples to Dean.”
“Right. You do that.” Jesse said and headed for the door. He was pretty sure she was lying straight to his face. She didn’t seem too broken up about seeing him go, either. Not that he should have expected more. She was the princess. Untouchable. And he was still paying for past mistakes.
“Take care of yourself, Aster. Lucas will not be happy if you disappear again.”
“Got it, Jesse. Don’t worry.”
Her sardonic smile was not reassuring, but he nodded and went out the door. He was surprised to feel an inexplicable sense of loss. He should be used to this. It wasn’t like he ever got what he wanted. And the Tyler family deserved his loyalty. He had to make sure they were safe. Nothing was more important than that. Sweet little Annabelle. It can’t be her.
He loped off into the night, trying to ignore the tight clench of fear in his gut.
Aster crossed the room and pulled open the door. He was really leaving. Just like that. She watched Jesse jog through the parking lot and out of sight. Somehow she thought it would be a little harder to shake someone her brother sent, once they found her. But Jesse didn’t seem too worried about her ability to protect herself even after the way he found her. She shook her head and closed the door.
He’d surprised her. Yes, he pla
yed at being a cocky bastard, but something about the way he acted tonight… He’d saved her ass without making any kind of fuss about it at all. And then he’d just— left.
She poured herself another glass of cognac and sat on the bed, resting her back against the headboard. She’d never actually given Jesse a thought. He was just one of the many unmated men of her pack. But the very fact that he would leave, was more than willing to trust her on her own…
She sighed. Her nose still wasn’t working after that overload of scent, but she hadn’t missed the expression of fear on Jesse’s face when she’d mentioned his young cousin. She shivered and took a sip of her drink, trying not to consider what the labs could possibly want with Annabelle. Trying not to think about what might have happened if Jesse hadn’t shown up.
Being trapped like that, helpless—
She shook her head, attempting to banish that feeling of panic. She blew out a long, slow breath and forced her mind back to the problems at hand. If she could just figure out what they were working on…
She tapped her chin and then reached over for her laptop, pulling up those files again. They seemed to be tied to the fertility research. But the database had been hidden in with other stuff connected to the work being done at the medical complex. Odd. She took another slow swallow of cognac and leaned her head back on the headboard, closing her eyes for a moment.
This would be so much easier to figure out if Dean weren’t so stubborn. She could really use his brain right now. She sighed. It was probably time to call him anyway. She didn’t have the resources, not to mention the training, to figure out exactly what the labs were working on. And that information was key to taking down Marten.
She had to admit the timing was pretty much perfect. She had a feeling these samples would prove Marten was unfit to be Alpha. Which was good, because she was running out of time. It had been almost six months since Marten had taken over as Alpha. The last thing she wanted was for Lucas to get it into his head that he should go up there and issue a challenge. She needed to get these samples up to Dean as soon as possible.
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