Nodding, she swallowed the terrible choking lump in her throat, blinking fast to get rid of the shine of tears in front of the other team members.
Javier touched Sebastian’s head with a gentle hand. “He’ll be safe, Rose—and very loved. We’ll see to his needs, all of us. We’ll help provide everything he needs. You tell us, and it’s yours.”
She looked around her at the circle of faces. They all nodded. Some of the tension eased. She couldn’t help smiling. Even as they reassured her, they were sliding weapons into clothing, readying for battle. There seemed to be an armory on every floor, hidden of course, but well stocked with just about any weapon they might need. She knew they went armed everywhere outside the house, probably in it as well.
“You good?” Kane asked.
They were all looking at her, waiting for her answer. Not, she realized, to get it over with, but because they genuinely cared and were ready to do whatever it took to make her comfortable with their future. She took a deep breath, not wanting to disrespect them with an easy answer. Was she? Probably not yet, but she was beginning to believe. She could see the genuine affection they all gave to one another. More than that, she could see that the same intense loyalty that had drawn her to Kane was in each of them.
“I will be,” she said honestly. “I need to start training and feel as if I’m part of the entire unit. More than anything, that will make me feel part of everything.”
Top! I found it. I’m still searching around looking, because it’s a tiny camera and I’m betting someone’s watching, Gideon said triumphantly.
Long or short range? Javier asked.
Rose’s heart began to pound. “It has to be Whitney watching. He wants to see the baby. What if Eric put a camera that small on our floor? He’s visited several times. He could have easily done so.”
Kane took the baby and cuddled him close. “There’s nothing for him to see right now, Rose. Sebastian’s stronger than most babies at this age, but there is no way the camera can capture the intelligence and awareness we’re seeing. Gideon can search our home. Eric wasn’t allowed in our bedroom . . .”
“Of course he was. He examined you daily while you were recovering,” Rose pointed out. “He didn’t get to examine Sebastian, but he was there.”
Gideon, I’m sending Javier. He’s going to check the camera as subtly as possible for range, and then we’re going to look for Whitney. You’ll have to check Kane’s entire home for possible cameras.
Gideon groaned. This was a bitch to find.
Now you know what you’re looking for. Ethan, I’ll need you on the roof, Mack instructed. Lucas, use the tunnel and come out on the other side of the street. Blend in. And Javier, whatever you do, don’t kill anyone. We’ve already got a bloodstained SUV parked outside our warehouse. The last thing we need is more bodies to try to dispose of.
Rose lifted her eyebrow at Kane. “Does he have to tell Javier not to kill anyone?”
“Every damn time,” Kane said. “It’s just a precaution. Javier tends to take the easiest path, and if someone’s in the way . . .” He shrugged.
“I can’t imagine that he’s a hothead,” Rose said. “He seems like he’d be cool under fire no matter what.”
“Ice water runs in his veins. He’s not quite like everyone else, baby. But he stands. And he obeys Mack. Javier’s a good man, just a little misunderstood at times.” Kane shot a quick grin at Mack.
Mack scowled at him. “Misunderstood my ass. I need to sit on that boy.” He looked toward the stairwell, and even though the tent was in the way, he lowered his voice. “Jaimie heard Rhianna was back in the States. She sent word to come home, that Brian was down, and that you have a son.”
Kane’s breath hissed out. “She what?”
“She needs to come home, Kane,” Mack said. “It’s time. She’s part of us, and Javier and Rhianna have just got to come to terms with whatever the hell is wrong.”
“He’s still not talking?” Kane asked.
Mack shook his head. “Not one word, but I’m not surprised. Javier has always been one to play things close to his chest, especially when it comes to Rhianna.”
Rose made a noise in her throat to remind them she was still there.
“Sorry, sweetheart,” Kane apologized right away. “We all grew up together. We formed a family and sort of had each other’s back. There were only two girls, Rhianna and Jaimie. They were both quite a bit younger, and we were overprotective any way you looked at it. Rhee was different, her background far worse than the rest of us, with the exception of Javier. She didn’t always feel comfortable, although she always stayed with us.”
“Javier put a lot of pressure on her, and eventually she rebelled. He sort of rode her all the time, little digs, you know,” Mack said. “Very unlike him. He’s the strong silent type, but he didn’t like her around other men, and he got pretty ugly with a couple of guys. They had a fight a few months back, and she asked to be reassigned without telling any of us first. He’s been a bear ever since.”
“So he doesn’t think of her as his sister? Or he’s an overprotective brother?” Rose asked.
Mack shrugged. “He doesn’t act like a brother, but who knows with Javier. Rhianna is the only person in the world who can shake Javier up. He’s arctic cool until she comes around, and then we can cut the tension with a knife.”
Top, he’s across the street in the apartment building. I’m guessing second floor, but it could be the third floor. I can’t pinpoint the room.
Best guess, Javier, Mack said.
Middle windows either floor. If I was Whitney, and I knew what Gideon and Ethan are capable of, I’d choose second story and my escape route would be the far fire escape away from this warehouse where neither has a shot.
Jaimie, Marc will take over in there. I need you at the computer. Check the recent rentals on the building across the street, Mack ordered. Paul, go too, just in case I need Marc in the field.
Immediately there was a flurry of activity as if Jaimie had called both Marc and Paul because Brian had taken a turn for the worse. Whitney would recognize the two of them as healers and believe something had gone wrong.
Jaimie, the consummate actress, backed out of the tent in full view of the camera and then went around the corner, behind the tent, to her bank of computers.
“I keep an alert on the real estate agency that handles that rental property. It flags all new tenants.” She was all business, settling in front of her bank of computers, fingers flying over the keyboard.
Rose was fascinated—actually a little awestruck—at the amount of information pouring over the various screens in front of Jaimie. There were ten large computer screens, and data flowed over each of them, coming in from various sources and agencies around the world. She was certain much of what she was looking at was data that was all at a security level far beyond hers. Her existence might be top security, but she obviously didn’t have the kind of clearance Jaimie and the others had—not yet. More than ever she wanted to be an official member of the team.
Jaimie glanced over her shoulder. “You are official, or you wouldn’t be looking at this data. The word came through a little while ago. With everything going on, there was no opportunity to tell you.” She flashed a mysterious grin. “Mack is officially your boss, poor girl.”
“Isn’t he yours?”
Jaimie tossed her head. “Not hardly. I’m an analyst, not a soldier.” She winked. “He’s really mean. Ask any of the men.”
“Jaimie,” Mack made a growling noise in the back of his throat. “I really need that information.”
“It’s coming up now, Mr. Impatience. You have three on the second floor and two on the third. The Williams family moved into apartment 224, one of the windows facing directly toward us. A couple with two children. A Donald Martin is in apartment 225 right next to the family, and the third one is on the other side of the building, so I doubt he’s your man. On the third floor, both apartments recently rented face our b
uilding. A Charles Laudry and Tisha Phillips in 334 and Seely Thompson . . .” She broke off, looking up at Mack.
“What is it?”
Jaimie shook her head. “An alias, definitely not Whitney. Rhianna uses that when she sends me personal email. It’s always encrypted, a program I wrote especially for the two of us to use. No computer is going to break it easily.”
“So Rhee is already back,” Kane said.
Rose caught the relief on Kane’s face and the affection in his voice, but she didn’t ask questions. Mack was already relaying the information Jaimie had given him about the other tenants to his team.
“We can’t destroy the camera or take out the ones in your home, Rose,” Mack said, “until we go after Whitney. This might be our best chance at him. Stay here with Sebastian, out of sight behind the tent.”
Rose nodded and looked up at Kane. She wanted to go, but she hadn’t trained with them yet. She knew she’d only get in their way. “Good hunting.”
Use alternative ways to leave the building. If Whitney spots us leaving en masse, it will tip him off that we’re on to him. Right now he’s feeling very superior that we didn’t find his camera. I’m heading into the tent as if to check on Brian. From there I’ll leave out of his sight and meet you all outside. Stay to cover. Kane and Javier, take the second-floor rooms, and I’ll take the third floor with Lucas. Gideon, can you see into the windows?
Doing my best, Top. There’s someone moving around in three of the apartments facing us from the third and second floors.
Kane caught Rose’s face between his hands and kissed her thoroughly right there in front of everyone. Her eyes went wide and shocked, and he grinned at her before brushing a kiss on top of Sebastian’s head. “They may as well know I’m crazy about you,” he whispered overly loud in her ear, watching her blush with rising satisfaction.
He loved that slightly bemused, flustered look she got when he was publicly affectionate.
I have no idea what to do when you put on public displays.
Manly displays, he corrected. That’s me beating my chest and claiming you.
She frowned at him, and he was tempted all over again to kiss her fantasy mouth. Just how long are you going to keep that up?
“Forever, sweetheart. For always. And that’s the damned truth, Rose,” he said and turned abruptly to uncover the escape door situated close to the bank of computers where Jaimie always had a fast exit, should one become necessary. The opening revealed a very narrow entrance with a built-in slide that took him straight down to the wharf side of the warehouse. He pushed open the door to exit into the alley in front of the wharf itself.
The wind blew in from the ocean, and fingers of fog stretched greedily toward the buildings. Sheets of mist blew in rapidly, a thick veil difficult to penetrate. The cover would help the team members as they spread out and went into the building across the street by several different entrances. Ethan and Gideon, the spotters on the rooftops, however, would have a much more difficult time.
Kane, Gideon spotted movement in three of the apartments. Are you in a position to see into the apartments?
Give me three, Top. I’m coming to the corner now. Javier, we’ll need your boys.
Roger that. They’re already on their way. Someone just told them about the SUV parked on the street with the keys still in it.
Kane stayed close to the wall, his clothes blending into the walls of the warehouse as he rounded the corner. It was three steps to the shadowed alcove. They’d taken advantage whenever an apartment had been vacant to study the vulnerabilities of their own warehouses, finding each blind spot from the windows and marking them for future use.
Negotiations so far had proved to be nearly impossible in acquiring the apartment house. The corporation owning the building steadfastly refused to sell. Jaimie was peeling away the layers in an effort to find who actually owned the corporation. The fact that the building had recently been sold quietly, without advertisement, along with the property managers being deliberately evasive had raised suspicions that either Whitney or another enemy had bought up the building.
Kane waited in the alcove, hearing the crowd of boys coming up the walkway, trash-talking loudly. They shoved one another, leapt over a fire hydrant, and threw several rocks at a stop sign. The sound, much like a series of gunshots, was loud despite the blanket of fog.
Movement at the window on second floor, Gideon reported.
One of the boys kicked the SUV as they surrounded it. The others laughed. Swaggering up to the passenger windows, the boys peered in. More fog poured into the street, swirling around the buildings, a moving, living veil.
Kane stepped into the darkened doorway that was one of the best blind spots available. Set back from the street, the deeper recesses allowed someone able to blend into shadows to disappear. Kane did so, steeling himself to use his particular talent. It was wrenching to use his vision, seeing through the walls inside the actual rooms.
The buildup of energy radiated heat in the small confines of the doorway. The building across from him shimmered, the thick walls undulating as if not real, the solid matter no longer solid. He felt the wrenching in his gut, the lurching of his stomach, and fought down the bile. Pain sliced into his head. He ruthlessly pushed the side effects down. Each time was different, but he had noticed some time ago that the salt air and fog seemed to make the initial penetration a little more difficult.
He took a breath and swung his gaze up toward the second floor. The walls fell away, giving him a dizzying moment, but he rode it out, setting his teeth, ignoring the commotion in the streets as the boys tried to enter the bloodstained SUV to steal it. They’d found the pool of blood and had exited fast, yelling. The world dropped away until there was nothing left between Kane and the occupants of Room 224.
Someone sitting in a chair facing the window. He isn’t moving, just staring out. No woman. No children. He’s in a perfect position to be observing a camera. Gideon?
I have him, Gideon acknowledged. I have a shot.
Check Room 225, Mack ordered.
On it, Top. Kane shifted his gaze to the next apartment. Jaimie had said a single male had moved in. A man moved through the apartment fast, away from the window. The male in Room 225 is armed. There’s a second male standing by the door, armed as well.
I have the first male, Ethan said, second is out of my sight.
It’s a drug deal. Man with briefcase just walked in. Kane moved on to the next floor.
Checking the third floor. Room 334. Kane looked up to the top floor. The walls dropped away, leaving the occupants exposed. A woman lay on a bed motionless, her head tilted at an odd angle. The man was at the side of the windows in the front room, staring at the street below and the chaos the boys were causing as they ran from the SUV. The male glanced toward the bedroom, seemed to say something, and then walked into the kitchen to open the fridge and pull out a bottle. Can’t rule out. One male moving around. Female in bedroom, lying on the bed.
Check the roof again, Gideon.
Roger that, Top. Gideon complied.
Moving position, Kane said.
It always took a few moments to recover from using his gift. His body felt weak and shaky, his stomach churning. He dropped his head down to suck in as much air as he could to counteract the dizziness. It only took seconds, but he was running out of time.
While he still had the cover of the boys, he had to quickly get across the street. He slipped from the doorway and, hugging the shadows as best as possible, pulled a hat low, drooped his shoulders, and changed his gait. He appeared shorter and thinner than he was just by changing his posture and the way he walked. Hurrying, he crossed at the crosswalk, sending nervous, furtive glances at the boys, never once looking up.
Roof is clear, Top, Gideon reported.
Javier was already inside, and the two of them went up the stairs toward the second floor. Mack and Lucas had come in from the back and were already on the third-floor landing. Kane signaled
to Javier, and they went into the hallway, guns out and ready, senses flaring out to find an enemy. They moved in silence, approaching apartment 224 first.
Gideon, do you have eyes on our man? Kane asked.
He hasn’t moved. Not so much as a change in position.
Kane nodded to Javier. Javier knelt and quickly worked the lock. He eased the door open. There was no chain in place, and icy fingers slid down Kane’s spine.
Going in. He knew Gideon would take the shot if necessary, but there was something else, some awareness that kept the adrenaline pumping through his system. He could almost smell Whitney’s presence.
He signaled again, and Javier dropped low to cover him as Kane went through the door and stepped to the left, clearing the room. The man in the chair didn’t move, didn’t turn his head. It was possible he hadn’t heard their entrance, but even when Javier moved to visibly clear the other small rooms, the occupant of the apartment was unnaturally still.
Kane glided up behind him, finger on the trigger, but still the man didn’t move. Kane could see why when he approached from the side. Eric Lambert sat grotesquely sprawled out in the chair, drink near his hand, throat cut open, shirt soaked in blood.
Man down, Top. Whitney was here.
Kane could smell the pipe tobacco, Whitney’s special blend. Bile reached his throat and he choked it back. He remembered that appalling scent as he came up from loving Rose. The man had made certain Kane and Rose had mated. Kane had ruined his cameras, so he’d come to see for himself. Kane had never detested a human being more than he did that poor excuse for a man. He would have killed him right there had he not been locked in a cage. The only thing he could do was cover Rose’s body with his own, shielding her from a monster’s smug, satisfied gaze. They’d looked at each other through the bars. Whitney had seen the resolve there, knew Kane wanted him dead. He’d simply, arrogantly, removed the pipe from his teeth and nodded before walking away. As if they had been in some hellish pact together.
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