“I think Hannah should stay in the car,” Ella said, the worry in her voice pulling at my conscience.
A better man would have taken her hand and comforted her, told her everything was going to be all right just to make her feel better. Fuck that. Ella wasn’t some shrinking violet. She’d be the first one to kick my ass if I tried to treat her like one.
Things weren’t going to be fine. Hunters had tried to kill her. An entire council of bigoted assholes wanted her head on the chopping block. Vampires were running wild. Julian was a dick. And Hannah—she was fragile, so easily broken, something that had been proven only a few short months ago.
Violence crept closer to the surface—the world I saw tinged by the red I was slowly getting used to. A world drenched in blood. This was something awakening in me, something primal.
I glanced in the rearview mirror at my brother and met his gaze. He sat with his shoulder pressed to the window, as far from Hannah as possible. He was probably in his own private hell back there.
“Ella’s right,” I said slowly. “Hannah should stay here. I wasn’t expecting so many guards. Either they’ve got a fuck of a lot of secrets in there or someone tipped them off that we were coming.”
Dante shook his head and sent his mane of hair bouncing. He slid his hand from Hannah’s knee to her thigh and squeezed. I had a feeling if he could have pissed on her to mark his territory, he might have. “Not leaving her here.” His tone broached no argument one way or the other. I needed Dante. Hell, I needed Hannah and her crazy memory to help us navigate the inside of the facility. If shit went south, she’d be the best person to get us out in a hurry.
Eli glared at the other shifter and curled his lip at him. The feline responded in kind and the testosterone in the too-tight vehicle kicked up about ten notches. Time to break up the party before fur flew.
“Have it your way,” I said.
“No way.” Ella shook her head. “He doesn’t get to make decisions for her.”
Dante stared Ella down without an ounce of fear. “My bed, my woman, my say.”
Ella narrowed her eyes and I let out a low whistle at the I’m-going-kick-your-ass glare she shot him. This wasn’t going to end well.
Hannah, who seemed even more innocent all of a sudden, looked between all of us. Two months ago she might have played the Barbie card, but not tonight. “We all discussed this and agreed to it before we left the house. How about I decide what I want? I’m a part of this team and I’m going in.” She tapped the side of her head. “I’m the one who memorized the blueprints. You need me to plot the course through the inside of that place and get your mom out safely.”
“Then it’s settled—again.” I pushed open the door and stepped out into the night.
Cool air filled my lungs and helped extinguish some of the heat. Boots crunched through the snow and I didn’t need to look to know it was Ella. She stopped at my side, her shoulder brushing my arm, a silent reaffirmation of her support.
We were in this together and thank fuck for that.
I shoved my hands into my jeans pockets and studied the building. Car doors opened and then closed.
“What’s the plan?” Dante asked.
I glanced at him and fought not to shake my head. As if they were made of glue, Hannah was adhered to his side. He had an arm wrapped around her, holding her tight. The tip of her nose was red from a cold I couldn’t feel. She shifted from one side to the other despite the layers Ella had insisted she pile on. I looked away from her skintight black jeans, black fur-lined boots and the black puffy jacket that shimmered in the moonlight. B&E, high-fashion style.
“Hannah,” I said, my gaze never leaving the building, “you studied the file on the way up. What’s the best way to enter?”
Her voice shifted and she sounded older. “Four towers—each armed with three guards. Castro made some notes regarding shift change. One is coming up soon. We wait, cut through the fence and get as close to the building as we can. Dante and Eli can shift, draw attention from the side entrance while Ella phazes inside.”
I turned, looked her over from her curled hair to her fuzzy boots and lifted an eyebrow. Who the hell was she?
A blush colored her cheeks. “What?”
I wrapped my arm around Ella’s shoulders and drew her into my side. I pressed my lips against her temple, needed to feel her skin, smell her shampoo. “Nothing. It’s a good plan is all.”
Ella rubbed her cheek against my arm and my cock inflated. Stupid bastard.
“That sounds good in theory, but we’ve got one problem,” Ella said. “I can’t phaze inside. I’ve got to picture it in my head or it doesn’t work.”
Dante grinned and reached into his back pocket. “Gotcha covered.”
He handed Ella a folded photo. She opened the paper and I gazed down with her. A grainy picture showed two guards standing inside the doorway Hannah wanted Ella to transport to. Affixed to the wall was a placard that read “R&D 1B-C”. I didn’t know what the hell it meant, but it was something specific Ella could use to ensure she ended up where she wanted to be.
I flicked the paper with my finger and smiled up at Hannah, feeling hopeful I wouldn’t have to bash in anyone’s skull—however much my demon might have enjoyed that particular activity. Get in, get out.
Hannah grinned. “The research offices are down that corridor. Once Ella is in, she can open the door and let us through. I know where the records are kept. Best thing would be to look through the files, find out exactly where your mother is. We are going to need some kind of paperwork, documents, anything we can use for the trial. My instincts tell me those guns aren’t to keep the people inside safe.”
I rubbed my jaw. “Dante, Eli, you okay with this plan?”
In answer, Dante—who stood in the frigid temperature in little more than a tee and faded jeans—grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled it over his head. Hannah’s blissful sigh had me rolling my eyes.
“All right then,” Ella said and turned her back about the time Dante reached for the button on his jeans.
I met the shifter’s gaze and then my brother’s, making sure they both understood what was at stake. “If we get separated, we meet up back at the car.”
Dante’s gaze was penetrating. “You get my girl hurt, you’ll pay.”
Ella made a rude sound in the back of her throat and turned her head to glare at him. “Sometimes I hate you.”
Hannah lifted onto her toes and pressed a kiss to Dante’s cheek. “I’ll be fine, seriously. I can handle this. Do you not remember badass Hannah who helped take out a master vampire?”
Before she got two steps forward, Dante grabbed her arm, pulled her back and captured her lips in a kiss that had me looking away before he slipped his tongue into her mouth.
I walked over to Eli and ran my hand over his buzzed scalp. I brought his head to mine so we were eye to eye. “Keep your head in the game. Be safe. You get hurt—I’m going to kick your ass.”
“I’m bulletproof.” He backed up a step and pulled his shirt over his head, dropping it to the ground.
Light flashed and I averted my gaze as the otherworldly, vibrating energy from my brother bathed my skin in electricity. After a few seconds, the intensity dimmed and I found Dante had shifted as well.
We didn’t have to wait long before the compound erupted in movement. The guards changed shifts, coming in and out of doors to switch positions. As a group, we stuck close to the trees, moving as stealthily as we could considering we had two large animals with us. Dante went off in one direction, Eli the other and bounded into the shining spotlights positioned at the corners of the hospital.
I cupped the back of Ella’s head and brought her forehead to mine. “Showtime, babe.”
“Be safe.”
“Always.”
Then she vanished, taking a piece of me with her. I pulled the gun from the back of my pants and stepped in front of Hannah, keeping her behind me. We crept down the embankment and I held my bre
ath for the few moments when we were out in the open. Every step sounded too loud in the night. At the gate, I held out my palm and Hannah set a pair of wire cutters into my hand.
I snipped the metal, each snick of the pliers bringing me closer to my goal.
“Hurry,” Hannah whispered.
I grit my teeth and systematically peeled back the links I’d severed to create a space for us to fit through. The second the hole was large enough, I slipped through and grabbed Hannah’s arm, pulling her with me.
“Go,” I ordered, shoving her into a run.
We sprinted the twenty feet across the open concrete, the echo of our boots a heavy pulse in my head. The entire time, I stared at the door I knew Ella was behind.
I pressed my back to the wall and waited. The racing din of my heart was the only thing I could hear. Ten breaths went by before the door opened and Ella poked her head out.
“Problems?” Ella checked left, then right before motioning us forward.
Hannah, rosy-cheeked and bright-eyed, grinned from ear to ear. “Oh my God, my heart is beating ten thousand miles a minute. Is it always like this?” she panted.
I shoved her inside the door and looked behind me to see if we’d been spotted. Nothing yet. Hannah’s grin faded when she looked at the body laid out on the white tiled floor that was speckled with dark red droplets.
Damn. Hannah’s success rate for not passing out at the sight of blood was fifty-fifty. Her swallow was audible. She looked up and met Ella’s gaze, her face colorless. “Is he—dead?”
Ella frowned at her and I didn’t miss the flash of hurt she quickly buried. “Of course he isn’t dead! Why would I kill him? He didn’t do anything wrong except pick the wrong place to work. I just,” Ella made a gesture of putting the man in a headlock, “incapacitated him. Not my fault if his nose got in the way of my elbow.”
“Sorry, Ella—he just looks so…”
I knelt next to the unconscious guard and pulled out a zip tie from my pocket, working quickly to bind his wrists. I snatched a set of keys, a two-way radio and an ID badge I wasn’t sure I’d need.
“Where to, Hannah?” I asked as I stepped over the body and stalked down the long, barren hallway.
The fluorescent bulbs overhead flickered, and I tried to ignore the subtle buzzing. The walls were white, peppered with strange motivational posters of mountains, lakes and other landscapes. “There is no ‘I’ in team”.
What the fuck was this place?
Beside me, Ella’s breathing changed. Her heart increased into a thunderous rhythm that made me feel like I’d just snorted a line of coke. I glanced at her. Her pale face looked a little green under the artificial lighting. She clenched and unclenched her fists, drawing my attention.
Ella stopped in the middle of the hall and stared at the wall as if she was seeing something else. Flaking paint. Chipped concrete. Having had to chase through the abandoned rooms and halls of the decrepit asylum Lizbeth had taken Hannah to and tortured her in, desperately searching for Ella, I couldn’t blame her for the hesitation.
I grabbed Ella’s face and made her look at me. “Another place, another time. Stay with me, babe.”
“I’m here.” She blew out a breath. “Let’s get in and get out.”
Hannah slipped her hand into Ella’s and squeezed. “Turn left down this hall, right down the second. The office we’re looking for will be the third door on the right.”
I led the way, passing several rooms, the glass windows reinforced with a layer of metal grates. When we made it to our destination, I tried the knob and found it locked.
Shit.
“Use the keys,” Ella suggested.
“It’ll take too long.” I twisted the knob, letting loose with the strength I held back, until the lock snapped. I pushed open the door and winced at the squeak.
We filed in one at time, Hannah closing the door softly behind us as much as it would with the broken handle. The office smelled of stale coffee and something else, something sweet. I looked around the dark interior, barely able to make out the large desk sitting in the middle of the room. Thick file folders littered the surface. There was other clutter, office stuff that reminded me of the set-up Richard had at our home growing up.
Pressed against the right wall, I made out four glossy cabinets. Hannah reached for the light switch and I grabbed her wrist, stopping her before she flipped it.
“It’ll draw too much attention. Keep it off,” I said.
I pulled out a flashlight and used the beam to direct her to Ella, who pulled out a similar light.
“Here,” Ella said. “Take mine, I don’t need it.”
She nodded and followed Ella to a filing cabinet. I tried mine only to find it locked. Frustration mounted. I was better suited to a fight, not information gathering. Before I could wrench it open, Hannah stopped me.
“If we are trying to stay inconspicuous, let me.”
She shone her light on the desk, the beam zeroing in on a small black container of steel paperclips. She grabbed two, untwisted them and came back to the lock.
“Since when can you pick locks?” Ella asked.
“Since forever. It’s not hard,” Hannah whispered, her words hard to make out over the light she gripped between her teeth.
After a few seconds, the lock gave way with a soft click and the cabinet slid open effortlessly. Impressive.
Ella and I exchanged a look. I shrugged and rifled through file after file, looking for some kind of order. They were organized by a numbering system that made zero sense to me.
“Oh my god, this is impossible,” Ella hissed, her fingers doing a dance similar to mine through the documents. “It’s all mixed up.”
I pulled out a random folder and flipped through its contents. A picture of a woman I’d never seen before was clipped to the front page, a red X stamped over her face. Under her snapshot was another photo, one of a demon with green skin and red, almost hypnotic eyes that nearly jumped off the paper they appeared so vivid. I glanced at the scribbled notes and my stomach curled with disgust.
Breeding unsuccessful. Genetics incompatible. Given serum compound 31-B. Patient didn’t survive coupling.
I looked up and met Ella’s gaze. Hatred filled her eyes. She too had an open folder in front of her and I wondered what the notes said. Or maybe I didn’t want to know. I looked back to the files I’d barely glanced at. There were hundreds of folders in these cabinets, thousands of horrors.
Who’d organized this?
Hannah reached for a folder, but Ella stopped her by placing a hand on her forearm. She gave a subtle shake of her head. “Don’t.”
“Ella, you can’t shield me forever. I’m a big girl.”
Ella’s voice softened. “I know you are, but you don’t need this shit in your head. Just trust me on this one, okay? Look through the stuff on the desk, see if you can get any kind of names we can use. If all else fails, we kidnap one of the doctors.”
At Hannah’s unwavering stare, I chimed in. “Names would be good.” I snapped the folder shut and shoved it back into the cabinet before reaching for another.
For the next thirty minutes, Ella and I searched through folders, methodically looking at the photos and names. I’d stopped reading the captions about fifty files ago. The notes were penned in different inks, handwriting, and styles showing there were a variety of doctors on staff.
The cabinet I’d started in had nothing but patient files with a red X, signifying they were deceased. Since my mother was alive, I didn’t figure I’d find her in that cabinet and had quickly moved on.
In the fourth cabinet, bottom shelf, midway through, I found what I was looking for. My heart stopped the second the folder fell open and a familiar photo stared back at me.
Marianna Knox McGregor.
No X bisected the face that haunted my dreams. Her eyes were as I remembered them. Big and beautiful—a deep chocolate color, the same shade as Eli’s, as Lily’s used to be. Her nose was slender and her g
olden-brown hair a mess of curls, an almost identical replica of my sister.
I forced myself to skip the notes written in different handwriting than the rest I’d come across. It was a scrawl I’d recognize anywhere. Richard. My blood went ice fucking cold, a direct contrast to the heat I emanated. The motherfucker had been here, he’d taken notes—he’d taken part. Richard had watched, silently documenting, as my mother was drugged, raped and impregnated with me.
He’d then spent my entire life lying to me. All for what? Rage simmered. I dropped my gaze lower and stared at the demon who’d sired me.
“No fucking way,” I muttered.
I knew who my father was.
Chapter Nine
“Micah, what is it? Did you find it?” Hannah asked.
I looked up from the photo I’d been staring at, one of a girl I’d met at a training camp once when I’d been ten. Even though she was aged in the photo, her riot of red corkscrew curls was unmistakable. Her death, apparently, had been a lie.
I focused on Micah, on the way his eyes glowed bright enough to encompass him in an eerie light. He looked up from the file he studied. I barely had time take in the lines of tension bracketing his eyes before his rage slammed into me, almost knocking me back.
“Micah?” It was hard to find my voice under the assault of emotions.
I licked my lips and carefully closed the folder I’d been looking at, setting it on top of the others I’d pulled out—survivors who’d been released after they’d been given some kind of mind-erasing formula. I sank down in front of Micah and cupped his cheek.
“Tell me.”
His skin was on fire, hotter than I’d ever felt it.
He spoke through clenched teeth. “He lied to me.”
I found I had to swallow, to catch my breath. “Richard?”
His clenched jaw was hard as a rock beneath the thumb I swept across his face. The faint scent of sulfur filled my nose, the flames inside him barely restrained. Beads of sweat curled from his temples and down his jaw. His heartbeat thundered, speeding mine with it so I felt his anxiety as if it were my own.
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