“Sir,” Rafe greeted with a nod of respect.
“I hope you’re cal ing with some good news.”
He didn’t think getting naked with Devony Winters was going to qualify as that to the Order’s leader. Then again, it wasn’t exactly good news that he’d participated in a vault robbery of mil ions’ worth of priceless art, either.
He probably ought to begin with the least fucked-up aspect of his mission so far.
“I’m in with the gang. Cruz and I aren’t going to be best friends, but I think he trusts me. There’s been talk of something big coming down the pike soon. I’l make sure I’m in on it. I’m confident we’ve found a solid link in LaSal e, one that’s going to eventual y lead us to someone in Opus.”
Lucan grunted. “Glad to hear it. After that shit-show over at the MFA, I had my doubts.”
“Yeah, about that,” Rafe hedged. “How’s Jordana?”
“She’s fine. A little shaken, but that’s understandable considering the circumstances.”
“And Nathan?”
Lucan arched a black brow. “Fit to be tied, and I mean that almost literal y. He was ready to kil you even after Chase informed him that you’re covert and operating with the Order’s ful support.”
“So, he knows now.” Rafe nodded. “How’d he take that news?”
“You know your team captain, he’s an emotionless machine most of the time. No shock, given the way he was raised in the Hunter program.
Nathan may not have said as much, but I know he’s got to be relieved. That’s not to say you won’t have to answer to him about what happened in
that museum vault.”
Rafe frowned. “I didn’t know Jordana was going to be there. Hel , I didn’t even know about the heist until I was in the van and rol ing with Cruz and the rest of the gang.”
Lucan nodded. “They had to test you.”
“That’s right. If I’d thought there was any chance Jordana or Carys might end up in harm’s way, I would’ve aborted the mission.”
“I know, son. When al of this is over, you’l have to work on convincing Nathan of that.”
Rafe welcomed the chance. He had a lot of bridges to rebuild on the other side of his mission. Now, he had to add Devony’s name to that list too.
“Are you going to tel me about the woman?” Lucan’s gray gaze bore into him. “Nathan and Jordana told quite a story in their debriefing. They said she’s Breed. This daywalker, is she the female you reported on the other day, the one you said they cal Brinks?”
“Her name is Devony,” Rafe said. “Devony Winters. Her father is—”
“Ah, Christ. Roland Winters,” Lucan muttered, his scowl deepening. “Why am I just now hearing from you that a goddamn JUSTIS director’s
daughter is involved in this?”
“I only discovered her name last night, sir.”
“She fucking Cruz?”
“Hel , no.” Rafe’s reply came out sharper and more defensive than he intended. “Devony’s not actual y part of Cruz’s gang. She’s working her own mission, been embedded with them for a couple of months.”
“Embedded,” he said, suspicion rankling his forehead. “You mean as a JUSTIS covert agent?”
“No. She’s a civilian, Lucan. Actual y, up until the bombing in London kil ed her parents and brother, Devony was a music student studying here in Boston. She’s been trying to track down the ones responsible for the attack on the JUSTIS office. She’s looking for Opus, same as we are. She
wants to see them destroyed because of what they did to her family.”
“Son of a bitch.” On the other end of the video feed, the Order’s leader sat back in his big desk chair. He slowly shook his head. “We can’t have this, Rafe. She’s going to get in our way. Hel , she already is. We need to contain her. I’l have Chase take care of—”
“Lucan.” Rafe didn’t know what he could say, how to explain that Devony had actual y proven to be a help, not a hindrance, to his mission. There wasn’t anything he could say. He had to show him. “Hold on for a minute. I’m going to upload some information.”
He grabbed his phone and sent some of the photos he took of Devony’s war room and the handwritten notes her father had left behind. Then he
waited, watching as Lucan reviewed the intel in unreadable silence.
“That’s just the start of the information she’s col ected these past few months. The logs were assembled by Roland Winters over about a year’s
time. He kept them hidden in a safe at the family’s Darkhaven in Back Bay. Devony doesn’t think he told anyone about them, including his
col eagues at JUSTIS.”
“She volunteered al of this information to you?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Was this before or after she drained Jordana of her power and knocked one of our most lethal warriors on his ass for more than an hour inside
that museum?”
Rafe cleared his throat. “After. Devony’s got the ability to siphon another’s ability and use it herself. But it costs her. She was weak and in a lot of pain afterward. I helped her. I fol owed her home later, and she eventual y told me everything.”
As far as field reports went, his was light on details about that night. He didn’t think the blow-by-blow was going to make Lucan any happier. Not that the shrewd Gen One needed him to color everything in. From the grim look on his face, it was obvious he understood exactly what Rafe
wasn’t saying.
“Does she know about your mission for the Order?”
“No. That part of my cover is intact. As far as she knows, I want to take Opus out for my own personal reasons.”
Lucan grunted. “I don’t think that’s al too far from the truth.”
“No, sir. You know I want to redeem myself. I’ve never made a secret of that. But my loyalty is with the Order. I’m not going to let you down again.”
“You didn’t let us down in Montreal, Rafe. That’s a burden you placed on your own shoulders.” Lucan studied him for a long moment, his brows flat over his measuring gaze. “This is your mission, Rafe. As long as you don’t compromise your cover with her, I’m going to let you cal the shots
where this female is concerned. But understand, that means you’l live with the results.”
“Yes, sir.”
“So, what do you recommend we do about Devony Winters?”
Rafe knew al it would take was a word and Lucan would ensure she was placed under Order protection somewhere out of the blast range of
Opus or anyone in their circle. She would be safe. She would be out of his way, somewhere he didn’t have to think about the prospect of her
getting hurt or distracting him from his goal.
But al of those things would come at a price.
And as much as he wanted to think their partnership wasn’t real, the warrior in him recognized he wasn’t going to find a stronger al y in this quest.
“Devony stays. She’s mine to look after.”
Lucan gave him a grave nod. “Al right, son. She’s yours.”
As he spoke, a chime went off on one of the devices on his desk. He glanced at it and scowled, a look of true concern on his face. His low,
whispered curse spoke volumes.
“Is something wrong, sir?”
He started to shake his head, then slowly exhaled and met Rafe’s stare through the monitor. “We’ve been dealing with an issue in Europe for the past few days. It concerns the team doing some black ops work near Budapest.”
“Micah’s team,” Rafe said. He recal ed that another of the Order’s elders, Tegan, had only recently come back from that region where his son had been deployed. “What’s going on?”
Lucan gave him a sober look. “Micah’s team went dark the other day.”
Holy hel . Rafe felt a jab of worry, even dread, for one of his closest friends. “Do you mean they’re MIA?”
“We’re not ready to cal it that yet.”
But he did
n’t have to. Rafe could see the truth in Lucan’s shadowed expression. No wonder he and Chase and Gideon had barked at him the
other night for reporting in late. It wasn’t often the Order had to deal with the loss of one of their own, never mind an entire team that included a family member.
“Go take of your business, son. As soon as you have something solid to move on, you let me know. We’re going to get this done. I’l be damned
before I accept the alternative.”
CHAPTER 15
Rafe strode into Asylum around nine o’clock that night and headed to the pool tables in back where Cruz’s text had directed him to go.
The gang looked like they’d been there for a while, already settled in at one of the far banquettes with a round of beers half-consumed between them and a game of eight-bal nearing its completion on the bil iards table.
Devony was with them, too, dressed in that hot-as-fuck black leather motorcycle jacket and a pair of dark jeans and high-heeled boots that made her legs look like they went on for days. Now, the sight of her in her long-sleeved turtleneck made him as hard as he would be if he saw her
standing there in lacy lingerie. Mainly because he had no need to imagine what she was hiding under al of her concealing clothes.
He had touched every inch of her.
Had tasted every sweet curve and crevice.
She met his gaze across the tavern and he felt it as powerful y as if she’d wrapped her hand around his cock.
A private smile tilted her lips before she abruptly glanced away from him—and not before he glimpsed the faint flicker of amber sparks dancing in her eyes.
His own gaze crackled with heat too. He masked it with bravado, swaggering past the tables of bar patrons and ignoring the flirty feminine stares and whispers that fol owed in his wake. He didn’t give a shit about any of the would-be blood Hosts or other women who tried to catch his
attention.
There was only one female in the place who stirred his interest. The one doing her best to pretend he didn’t exist as he walked up and knocked
fists with the guys standing around the pool table.
Fish was sporting a flashy new watch on his wrist. Ocho and Axel were both garbed in gaudy designer shirts that Rafe guessed must have come
from the Fal Col ection for douchebags. Cruz had opted for a less overt display of his recent windfal , but Rafe didn’t miss the diamond pinky ring sparkling on his left hand.
“Someone’s been doing a little shopping, I see.”
Fish grinned, holding his arm up to show off the new hardware. “Set me back twenty-five large, but ain’t it sharp?”
Rafe played along, nodding as if he were impressed. “Nice.”
“Already got my eye on an upgrade once we col ect on our next job.”
“Yeah?” His curiosity piqued, he glanced at Cruz. “Sounds like something big.”
“It is,” Fish further volunteered, keeping his voice to a conspiratorial level in spite of the music drowning out most of the conversation in the place.
“We’ve been sitting on this one for weeks, just waiting on a go-time. Right, Cruz?”
Rafe had hoped it wouldn’t take long to hear something about the job Devony had alerted him to. Based on the gang leader’s cautious gaze as it
cut away from Fish, it seemed he was in luck.
“I’m intrigued,” he told Cruz. “However you can use me on this, count me in.”
A tight nod. “We gonna finish this game, or what?”
They returned to their places around the pool table. Rafe hung back, watching as Axel took his shot. He sank a couple of stripes for Fish and
himself before losing his turn to Devony on the opposing team with Ocho.
Thank fuck for loud sound systems and poor human hearing, because there was no curbing the low, possessive animal growl that boiled out of
Rafe’s throat as he watched her grip the long cue and bend over the edge of the table in front of him to take her shot.
She was al business about the game, not doing anything designed to make him squirm, but damn if he could keep his cock from standing at
attention. Behind the flat line of his lips, he clenched his molars together and struggled to keep his fangs from erupting out of his gums. Sparks danced in his field of vision as she shifted her stance on those spike-heeled boots, then struck with her cue.
Bal s nicked against each other, fol owed by the clean thump of the red solid dropping into the pocket she’d cal ed. Axel and Fish groaned,
realizing they were al but beaten now that she had control of the table.
“Impressive,” Rafe murmured as she walked past him on her way to set up her next move. And he wasn’t talking about her precision-perfect shot.
She gave him a private little smile. “You game to try me? Once I clean up here, I’l be happy to take a turn running you around the table too.”
He arched a brow. “That could be interesting.”
“Very.” She kept walking, smoothly heading to the other side of the table.
With his erection straining behind his zipper, Rafe tugged his jacket down, and leaned his back against the wal to watch the final rounds of play.
Cruz flagged a waitress and ordered another round of beer for the group. Then he sauntered over with his near-empty mug in hand. He glanced
toward the pool table for a moment before settling in beside Rafe.
“Looks like Brinks is starting to warm up to you.”
“Looks like Brinks is starting to warm up to you.”
“Think so?” Rafe shrugged. He knew their conversation had been wel out of earshot of the man, but he couldn’t feign indifference when it came to a knockout like Devony and expect to be believed. “She’s not hard to look at, is she? I mean, despite al the razor-wire in her attitude.”
Cruz chuckled. “When a bitch looks as good as her, who cares about attitude? In the end, they al fuck the same. Some like her just need to be
slapped around awhile first, show them who’s real y in charge.”
Rafe felt his lip curl back from his teeth, a smile that was far from friendly.
Not that the gang leader noticed the difference. He relaxed next to him and drained the last of his beer. “So, you asked about the gig we’ve got coming up.”
Rafe gave a curt nod, stil incapable of a reply when disdain for the man had his fangs cutting into his tongue. It took Herculean effort to bring his Breed nature to heel and keep his fists away from Cruz’s ugly face while the guy kept talking.
“Like Fish said, we’ve known it was in the pipeline for some time. I’ve got it on good authority that everything’s almost in place.”
“Good authority, meaning LaSal e?” Hardly a need to ask, and Cruz’s flat stare was confirmation enough. “What kind of job are we talking about?”
“Merchandise pickup,” he said. “The goods are on the move as we speak, heading for Conley Terminal from overseas. They’re expected to arrive
tomorrow night. Customs agents wil have already been paid off and turning a blind eye, so al we need to do is be there to intercept the
merchandise and reroute it to our client.”
“Intercept and reroute. Meaning we’re going to steal it.” Rafe frowned. “Steal it from who? What is the merchandise we’re grabbing?”
“You don’t need to worry about that. You don’t need to worry about where we get our orders, either. You’re getting paid for your muscle and your other Breed skil s, that’s al .”
Rafe grunted, about two seconds away from punching the dirtbag in his sneering face. “How much are we talking about on this job?”
“Three-quarters of a mil. Split five ways.”
“Don’t you mean six ways?”
He shook his head. “I mean five. We don’t need Brinks on this one.” The gang leader’s thin lips flattened in a cold smile within his goatee. “Now that we’ve got you to break us into anyplace we need to go, we don’t need her at al
anymore.”
Shit. He didn’t like the idea of Devony being mixed up with lowlife criminals like these, but he wasn’t ready to lose his sole al y. She wasn’t going to like any of this, either.
“We’l meet at Ocho’s tomorrow night and go from there,” Cruz said. “I’l message you as soon as I get word that we’re on.”
Rafe nodded, but his attention was somewhere else. He surreptitiously glanced Devony’s way, just in time to see her slam the eight-bal into the corner pocket for the win. With Ocho hooting over their victory while Fish and Axel hurried to rack up another game for a rematch, Devony
murmured that she was done playing and was going to the bar for something stronger than beer.
Rafe watched her cross the tavern. Her stride was swift and purposeful, but he knew her wel enough to recognize when she was upset. No, she
was flat-out furious. He had no doubt she heard every word Cruz said.
Bypassing the bar, she headed into the short hal way toward the restrooms.
Fresh beers arrived for the gang as Cruz moved over to the pool table to team up with Ocho against the other pair.
Rafe clapped Cruz on the shoulder as if they were old friends. “I’l be back in a few. Al this drinking is making me thirsty, and there’s a hot little blonde at that far table over there who looks like she’s eager to help me out.”
The gang chortled. Rafe left them behind and swaggered over to one of the human females who’d been undressing him with her eyes since he
walked in. She couldn’t get off her chair fast enough when he curled his finger at her in invitation.
Wrapping his arm around her bony shoulders, he ushered her past the bar and into the hal way where Devony had disappeared a moment ago.
A smal pack of women stood chattering and applying their makeup in the cramped ladies’ room when Rafe stepped inside.
“Out,” he commanded in a growl, his fangs bared. They fled at once. He mental y locked the door behind them and held it there.
Then he turned to the woman staring up at him with lust-fil ed eyes under his arm. He put his hand on her forehead. “Sleep.”
She slumped into an immediate trance that wouldn’t lift until he wil ed it to.
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