I try to disguise it without revealing her boyfriend is a shifter. That might bring questions, questions that maybe our family is a bit too Para-friendly and that maybe she did know something about me.
Alyssa swallows, her hands clenching and twisting around each other as she takes in what I have to say. “But what’s going to happen to you? How can you get out of this?”
I sit back down, sighing. “I don’t know. The Para Laws—”
There’s a knock on the door, and the two guards re-enter, one on each side of the glass. “That’s it. Time’s up.”
“Wait, let me talk to my sister!” Alyssa says, ever the believer in the ideal. She thinks she has rights . . . and I’ve been too chicken to tell her the truth. With the Para Laws, her civil rights got checked at the front door. The guard on her side promptly demonstrates this by grabbing her by the arms, twisting her wrist behind her back and forcibly escorting her from the room. She struggles, twisting and fighting as best she can, yelling, “Let me go! No! Eve!”
I don’t know if stress helps my powers or anything, but I furrow my brow, trying to think at Alyssa. I’ll be okay, ‘Lyssa. Don’t worry. Just go home and keep your head down. Don’t tell anyone anything when they ask you questions.
I’m not sure if my thought reaches her mind, but her face calms as she makes eye contact with me and stops struggling. Once she’s gone, I turn on my guard in total fury. “You piece of shit. She had nothing to do with this! She doesn’t deserve this.”
I can see it in the guard’s eyes. As soon as the word got out, I’m just another Para. “Blame yourself,” he says nonchalantly. “You brought it on her.”
I fume, anger coursing through my veins, and it’s with a lot of restraint that I try not to think about giving my guard a migraine. I don’t know what my powers do, or even how to control them yet, and what could be a headache could end up being a stroke . . . or his head could explode like Cody’s.
The second guard comes back, holding ankle shackles and a waist belt. “Transport time.”
“Where are we going?” I ask, but I don’t struggle as they shackle me and march me down the hall to another room. I don’t want to risk getting Tazed again and losing control of my abilities. I’ve seen the door before, and a quaver goes through me as they unlock it. It’s room 101 . . . the one interrogation room that is never used. The room no one talks about.
The guards shove me inside, slamming the door shut as I tumble to the padded floor. I roll, sitting up. Room 101 . . . it’s all white on the inside, and on the surface, it looks like any other interrogation room.
But I see a few other differences. There’s a large table. But more importantly, as I scan the room . . . there’s no recording equipment.
Whatever happens in here, there’s no record of it.
And that scares me more than anything else.
Chapter 17
Eve
“Hello, Eve.”
I sit up, having napped a bit in the corner. Maybe I’m just getting used to the fear or maybe I’m just exhausted, but after the guards pushed me into room 101, time seemed to drag on. Eventually, I found a corner of the white room and slumped down, the padding actually a little comfortable. I don’t know how long I’ve been asleep, but at least I’m not freaking out as I look through the glass at the tall, bald man in a lab coat.
I don’t say anything, though, just studying him like he’s probably studying me. About fifty something, tall and with shoulders that are just starting to slump, his eyes are sharp as tacks as he looks back at me, a deep piercing perception evident.
“Come now, Eve, I’m just going to ask some questions. Let’s not make this difficult, shall we?” he says, his baritone voice amused. “What can it hurt to at least talk with me?”
I think about for a second, realizing he’s right. The best chance I have is convincing them that I’m not a threat, that I’m as shocked by all this as they are. “Fine. What’s your question?”
“My name is Dr. Hoenneger. How about we start easy? I’ve read your file, but can you tell me what your childhood was like?”
Starting easy? If this asshole’s read my file, he knows that’s not an easy question. The fact that he’s asking just pisses me off. “I played with unicorns and rainbows in my backyard along with my best friends, Richie Rich and Little Annie.”
Hoenneger chuckles. “Very funny. You don’t have to be so sarcastic. I’m not here to hurt you, just to try to understand what you are.”
His choice of words stands the hairs on the back of my neck straight up. “I’m sorry, but if you read my file, you’d know that question would take hours to answer.”
“Fine, moving on, and I’ll be more specific. What species are you?”
I roll my eyes. “I’m human.”
He rolls right along, firing off questions almost as if he’s not even interested in the answers. “What is a fairy?”
“Go to the right nightclub and you’ll find out,” I shoot back. “If that’s your style.”
Hoenneger’s smile stays fixed. He’s not irritated at all. I’m not even sure why I’m being so sarcastic. Pissed off, sure, but sarcasm? Not a good play. “Let me change tack. How did you do what you did to Cody Reigns? No human can do what you did to him.”
He has a point, and it makes me stiffen up. “I didn’t mean to do it.”
“Then just answer my questions and this will all be easy for you,” Hoenneger says. I don’t reply, and he takes that as agreement. After a moment, he continues. “You told your partner that you’re a fairy and that four fairy men saved your life?”
“Not quite,” I reply. “I told him that I was told I’m a Halfling.”
“And where are these ‘fairy’ men now?” Hoenneger pesters me. “Flying here to rescue you?”
I snort, shaking my head and not answering him. I have no idea what they’re doing or if they even know what happened.
He waits a bit, then continues. “You murdered a man, Eve.”
“I didn’t murder anyone. I don’t know what I did or how I did it!” I growl before taking a deep breath. “Do you realize that while you’re sitting here asking me these useless questions, the vampires are planning a major attack? We’ve got to stop them! I’m telling you, Marcus is the key!”
“We’re not here to talk about vampires, Eve,” Hoenneger says. “We’re here to talk about you.”
I thump my head against the padded wall, wincing when it’s not quite as padded as it seems. Room 101 is a fortress. “Look, I can’t tell you for sure what I am, because I never knew what I was in the first place. I always thought I was human.”
Hoenneger’s face splits into a hungry grin as he stands up, tapping the table behind him. “If what you’re saying is true, we’ll have to run some . . . tests.”
I can see it in his eyes. This guy’s just salivating at the idea of the type of tests they’ll do on me. I have to get out of here, but I know the construction of even the normal Para cells. I’ll need my powers, whatever they might be. I focus on the door, on the wall, trying to make something go boom . . . all of which fails miserably. Hoenneger watches, for some reason confident that I’m not going to try and pop him . . . but he’s right. Harming him doesn’t help me get out of this box. “Fuck! I don’t know what you want. I just need to get out of here! My sister must be beside herself.”
“If you don’t give us what we want, we have her. How would a nice, long, three-year stint at Beaver Island sound? I’ve heard that unpowered humans do not do well there. They often have to trade their bodies to one group or another to even survive.”
If I ever wanted to actually make someone’s head go splat, it’s now. I stare at him balefully, wishing it were him instead of Cody Reigns. “You put a hand on my sister and I promise you, whatever it takes, no matter how long it takes, I’ll make you wish you’d never been born.”
He acts unfazed, but I can see in his eyes that he’s finally unsure of himself. “Fine. If you won’t tell us yo
ur secrets, we will have to pry them from you. Guards!”
The door behind me opens, and three guys come in. They’ve obviously been waiting in the hallway. I turn to them, wishing I could make this difficult for them, but so far, I don’t have super strength.
“Take her out of here and prepare to transport her to Area 58,” Hoenneger says. I try to get away, but when you can only take seven-inch steps, you’re not going to get far. They take me hard, one tackling me while another grabs my ankle restraints. In moments, I’m lifted like a side of beef, my shoulders screaming as they lift me by my arms and ankles. The rest of me’s just as trussed-up. I can barely move at all. “See you at the lab, Eve.”
Whatever Area 58 is, top-secret government facility or just a codename for Hoenneger’s private lab, I’m about to become a lab rat. Fuck, I should’ve run when I had the chance.
It’s dark out when I’m carried out of the back of the precinct, I’d say nearly ten, by the moon. There are two ‘vans’, actually, armored vans that look just like the kind banks use to transport money. The guys open the back of the rear vehicle, where two more men are waiting for me, dressed all in black. “We’ll take the prisoner from here,” one says as I’m tossed inside, one of the transporters jumping in behind me.
As soon as the door closes, these guys mean business. “Not a word. One peep from you and you’re getting a tranq dart straight to the cunt.”
Jesus, and these are supposed to be the good guys? Maybe Alyssa has been right. The level of discrimination I've suffered since being discovered that I’m a Para is nauseating. Although I guess they also assume I’m a murderer.
The vans drive off, me left on the floor like a sack of mail while the three guys I’ve now mentally christened the Men in Black sit on narrow benches, their weapons at the ready. The air is thick with menace, my mind spinning with the contemplation that I’m going to become a lab rat . . . if I’m even allowed to survive.
With each turn, I’m jostled, uncontrollably bouncing between the benches as the van driver pushes the pedal down. Wherever they’re taking me, they’re not sparing the horses.
“You know, I’ve never made it with a fairy before. Think she squirts fairy dust when she gets fucked?” one of them jokes, randomly breaking the silence.
The head guard looks down at me, an evil smirk on his face. “Maybe we can find out. They don’t care how she arrives as long as she’s alive.”
Panic grips me as they leer at my helpless form, my hands and feet bound and unable to even kick to defend myself. One of them reaches down, massaging his crotch as he sets his weapon aside, reaching for me. I wiggle away as best I can, but I can only go a foot or two before my head hits the back wall of the box we’re in. I’m trapped.
An irritating sound buzzes in my ears, but it’s not me bumping my head. I hear voices, but they’re too faint, staticky. I can’t make out what they’re saying.
Hello in there, I yell at my powers, if there is any time you want to manifest, now’s the time!
“You’re pathetic. You’re supposed to be the ones protecting humanity? You’re scum to need to take advantage of a defenseless woman,” I hiss, my lip lifting in a disgusted sneer.
“Stop the van!” one of the guards says, banging on a steel grate that’s connected to the driver’s cab. “We need to teach this fairy a lesson.”
Up front, the driver opens the security panel and looks back. “Can’t stop. Lead vehicle’s got us covered, and we got a fucking flight schedule to keep.”
“Fine,” the back leader says, reaching for his belt buckle. “We’ll just handle it here. I got first. Rank does have its privileges.”
He gets down on his knees while the others grab my ankles, but just as he’s reaching for my pants, the front seat guards cry out. “What the fuck?” the man with the shotgun yells. “Did you fucking see that?”
“I did. What kind of bird was that?”
A grin breaks out on my face. They’re coming for me. I don’t know how I know. I just know.
Suddenly, the van feels like it just got hit from the side by a battering ram, and we swerve, tipping over. The guards go tumbling, me along with them, and it’s only luck that keeps my head from hitting something hard as I literally smack into someone’s ass. We tumble again, and I rap my head against the roof, which dazes me.
The guards in the back are stunned but still conscious as they get to their feet and reach for the door latch, two of them remembering to get their guns. “What the fuck happen—” the one who was about to rape me asks before he’s suddenly knocked from his feet and sent flying through the air, screaming.
Everything’s a little blurry, but I try my best to scoot to the door. Suddenly, I feel someone grab my chains and tear them like construction paper, leaving me with two interesting bracelets and matching anklets. I look up, and I see Noah’s shimmering body before me, naked and dripping with sweat, Tyler right beside him. Their eyes are wide with worry as they help me to my feet. “Eve.”
I’m exquisitely aware of how close Tyler’s naked body is and the fact that his cock is just inches from my right hand, rising as he looks me in the eyes. “You . . . you saved me,” I rasp. “Where are the others?”
There’s a metallic ting sound behind me, and I turn to see Jacob drop down from the top of the truck, a huge grin on his handsome face. “Doing the arduous work of taking care of the other guards,” he says with a smirk.
Chapter 18
Eve
The Old Haven condos feel warm and safe as I settle into the fluffy couch, sighing in pleasure as I cradle a warm cup of hot chocolate that Cole made as soon as we walked in the door.
“Thank you guys,” I tell them, still trying to get over how fierce my guardians looked when they pulled me out of that van. I didn’t get much of a look of how it went down, but I saw the aftermath.
It’s breathtaking to witness and consider. In folklore and legend, I always thought faeries would be waif-like weaklings, unable to hurt a fly. They float around on their wings, sometimes being pranksters, but nowhere near badass. Not these guys.
“Thank us for what?” Noah says, washing his hands.
“For showing up at the right time. You saved me. I thought I was about to become a science experiment.”
If only I hadn’t been so stubborn to begin with and listened, maybe this wouldn’t have happened. Maybe Reigns would still be alive.
But had you not heard inside Cody’s mind, you also wouldn’t have found out that the vampires are planning some sort of attack either, my mind argues. So, there is something to be gained from all of this.
“A lot better than your head becoming succotash,” Jacob remarks, ironically munching on a can of just that. “You know—”
“Jacob,” Cole says evenly. “Enough.”
“What?” Jacob asks, munching. “At least I didn’t tell her I told you so.”
Cole turns toward Jacob, staring daggers.
“Let him be,” I say with a dismissive wave. Cole stops, looking at me with surprise. “He’s right. I admit, I’m stubborn. And what you guys were telling me was so unbelievable, I wasn’t buying it. I just wish I knew how to control it . . . whatever this is.”
“I respect you for recognizing this fact,” Cole says, his voice dropping even as he looks at me with a lot more than respect in his eyes. Something tells me he knows how much it took for me to eat humble pie, but at the same time, that magnetic pull between me and these four seems to be on the verge of breaking out again. I have to believe it’s because of the Fae connection we have. I’d normally not be too keen on letting four guys have their way with me, but whenever I’m around them, it’s always in the back of my mind. Maybe there’s something about them that is just inherently magical . . . and their magic is aimed right at my hormones. “But you will know soon enough. We’ll let you get your rest, then we’ll begin our journey to the Fae realm.”
I finger my hot chocolate cup, stirring a little bit that’s caught on the rim aroun
d and around. “That’s the thing. I’m not ready to go.”
Jacob sighs, tapping his can on the countertop. With almost unconscious grace, he tosses the empty container over his shoulder, where it neatly lands in a trashcan that’s on the other side of the room. “Sorry to be the bearer of shocking news, doll face, but you’re practically an outlaw here and have already killed someone. How much more havoc do you want to cause?”
“I resent that,” I say coldly. “I never intended to hurt anyone. It was just like he was screaming in my head and I wanted it to stop.”
Jacob shrugs. “You didn’t intend to, but you still did. You don’t want that to happen to someone innocent, Eve.”
I sigh. He’s got a point. “Okay, you’re right. But now that I have you guys to keep me in check, you can make sure I don’t do anything stupid, right? Just long enough to ensure that Alyssa is safe and to stop the attack the vampires are planning.”
“It’s not that simple,” Noah says quietly. “Your powers are a more pressing issue than a couple of vampires. You could cause a lot more damage than they could.”
“It’s not a couple of vampires we’re talking about here. It’s the entire city of New Haven that’s at risk!”
“And?”
“And didn’t you guys say chaos in the human world effects the Fae realm?” I ask, looking back and forth. Grudging understanding of my point dawns on their faces, and I nod. “Exactly. Just help me out here, let me get something set up for my sister, and I’ll go with you.”
“You have a point,” Cole concedes. “What do you propose? We can’t take on every vampire in the city.”
“You four took down two armored vehicles and ten guards that are trained against Paras!” I protest. “We can stop Marcus. We can prevent whatever is coming. If he succeeds, it’ll be a bloodbath!”
Jacob sighs. “You can’t save everyone, Eve. Five hundred years of experience talking here.”
Guardians of Magic: A Reverse Harem Fantasy Romance (Guardians of the Fae Book 1) Page 11