"So, what about the person in my house, what is their energy signature like?"
In between mouths he answered. "Not a nice person to know. The patterns were jagged, the colours dark grey, they never used to be, right behind the greys there used to be greens, indicating a selfish and angry person. Your patterns have swirls as well as a couple of sharp edges."
"But I wouldn't hurt anyone on purpose." She was almost defending herself even though she wasn’t sure why.
"From your energy I know you wouldn’t, I do however know that you would react if you were backed into a corner, you protect what is yours, rightly or wrongly."
Lucky wasn't sure if he was insulting her or not. "I think that is actually pretty accurate, in a weird and frightening way. Wow, I have never heard of your gift, you must be a special person to be honoured with such a prestigious gift. What time are Bastian and Darius arriving?"
"Soon and as much as I like staring at your legs, I would rather they didn't."
"Duh, I work with them; they have already seen my legs."
She actually heard Ben growl, he started walking towards her. She could feel Leyland, Connor and Theo watching her and him. "How does working with them allow them to see your legs?"
Lucky was laughing, while using the table to put some distance between them. She could have some fun with Ben and his dominant antics.
"Who do you think has to wear the skirts when we are searching for perverted vamps, or wizards who are enthralling prostitutes? Darius tried, but he has issues walking in heels and the red lipstick does not suit him." Leyland let out such a booming laugh it made her jump, she also felt Connor and Theo's moods lightened as they tried to hide the chuckles.
"I am not amused. You have to dress as a prostitute." And now Lucky couldn't help herself and started laughing, so rather than antagonise him further she headed out of the door.
"I am going to shower, what shall I wear, may be a skirt today." She couldn't help but laugh when she heard the growl following her .
"You had better come down in long trousers and a long sleeved sweater; actually I may have a long coat up there as well." Looking around at his dad, and his friends, he shrugged. "She won't be doing that crap anymore, that's a guarantee."
"Son, for some reason I don't think you get to make that choice. I am going to head out unless there is going to be any more excitement?"
As his dad left, Connor asked the question he and Theo had been waiting to ask.
"Why is Bastian coming here? Is there a problem with anyone in the pack?" Connor had liaised with Bastian on previous occasions when the pups were causing problems in the City, which normally meant they had been fighting.
"No, they want to speak to Lucky about last night; the bastard was pretty closed when I wanted to know more details. I know you are both ready for a sleep but are you okay to stick around? I have a feeling I am going to get pissed off."
Upstairs Lucky actually thought about wearing a skirt, but Bastian and Darius would think it was for Ben's benefit, each time she had to dress up at work it was under duress. She was not actually the skirt and dress type of girl, preferring to wear clothes that would conceal her weapons; it helped when she was chasing down assholes, and prevented her from breaking an ankle. She heard them arrive, and headed back into the kitchen to find Ben and Bastian at a standoff, glaring across the room at each other with the large round table separating them. "What's going on?"
Bastian looked pissed as he answered. "Apparently you are no longer 'allowed' to do undercover work if it involves wearing a skirt." As she looked at them both, she couldn't help it and burst out laughing before moving to Ben and kissing him on the cheek.
"Ben is joking; he knows that I make my own decisions, and would not presume ownership of me."
As she smiled at him, Ben knew he was screwed. By now he understood that she was fiercely independent, if he tried to stop her, he would push her away, but it went against his very nature to allow her to put herself at risk.
"Bastian I would imagine that you have noticed that that Ben and I are kind of going somewhere, although I am not sure where at the moment. You know that I love my job, but this is also important to me so although Ben won't tell me what to do, I will listen to his advice if he has any." It was the closest thing to a compromise she was willing to offer.
Bastian pulled at his charcoal grey jacket. "In that case Ben, you had better stay."
"How much do you know about the rogues in the area?" Bastian wasn’t accusing, he was asking. A good thing considering that he was on Pack land.
Conner answered for him. "The numbers have risen in the last six months; we have been patrolling more often to lower the problems. Most are okay and keep to themselves, though we have had rumblings of some sort of coalition."
"Well the information we have, is that the rogues are now under one unknown leader who is procuring humans to take part in some illegal fighting. Humans and lower level others are being pitted together, to take on other species of superior strengths."
Connor was not looking pleased. "Why the fuck would any sane human or lower level others agree to this? They have to know its suicide."
"They don't have a choice, someone is kidnapping them and holding them god knows where. All we know is that they turn up dead. Two days ago, we picked up a vamp that had seen a couple of the victims in 'Dreams' before going missing."
Now it was Ben's turn to be heard and he was not a happy man. "Are you surprised, Liam Curico took over Dreams when it was sold? We know that he is not the owner, but so far we are half way through the countless dummy corporations that the owner is hidden behind. Liam is a warlock who has absolutely no scruples, he called it Dreams because it can meet all of your dreams, no matter how depraved. What goes on in front of the public is one thing; however the club is also a front for the milder tastes, the slightly illegal ones. We know that the seriously illegal stuff goes on elsewhere."
Bastian was staring at Ben looking slightly incredulous. "And how do you know all of this?"
"I might be seen as the straight laced Alpha, meaning people would not try to involve me in anything illegal, that does not mean that I will sit back and let someone eat my profits while fucking up this area in general. We have certain members of the pack who can blend into the more unusual crowd and be accepted which keeps Silver ahead of the game."
"And at which point would you have informed me or the council? Shit Ben, you know we need this sort of information?"
"Don't be an ass Bastian; I have told you that Dreams is a cesspit, but you need what do you call it 'evidence,' well I am getting you the evidence. Until we know who the owner is, and where the seriously depraved people are going, there is no point."
Deciding to interrupt, Lucky stepped between them. "Guys stop the pissing contest, what are we going to do about it?" Just watching him was seeing masculinity at an all-time high; she was starting to feel like jumping him, which would be slightly embarrassing particularly in front of her friends.
"That's where you come in Lucky, Darius is well known in Dreams."
Everyone looked at Darius who shrugged. "What, I take my job seriously."
"I want Lucky to go in with Darius." Bastian sighed clearly prepared for another argument.
"No fucking way. Why does it have to be Lucky?"
"It would take too long for a male to get noticed." Lucky looked at Ben, this would be make or break time. Would he try to control her, or would he step back and let her make her own decisions? He paced the floor, his bare feet padding harshly against the grain of the hard wood. His thoughts came together to formulate a plan.
"Fine but Theo goes in too, and that is non-negotiable." Ben heaved a big sigh, he had conceded already so he wouldn't be swayed on leaving Theo out.
"No he is not trained, or part of my team." Watching the exchange between Ben and Bastian, Lucky could see a standoff coming and it wasn’t good.
Ben faced Lucky. "You said you would listen to my advice, well
I know Curico. I also know what sort of place Dream's is and so does Theo." Lucky knew she had to make a choice, one that would have a bearing on her future relationship with both Ben and Theo. "I go in with Theo and Darius, or not at all."
The atmosphere in the room changed, between her and Ben the charge increased, between Bastian and her there was tension as Bastian tried to work around Ben, thankfully Darius decided to jump in and rescue the operation.
"Let's try this as a plan, people know I live here, but when we are on shift we have the glamour, so they don't know that we are police officers. I am also known to frequent Dreams, for work purposes of course. The rumour mill is already running with the news of the Alpha's new female, but hardly anyone has seen her. So they don't actually know what she looks like."
"Darius I think I know where you're going with this, and I am not happy at what you are thinking. Friend or not, I will kick you out on your ass. Stop seeing Lucky as your partner and start seeing her as my mate." Ben could feel Lucky caressing his hand during his tirade, and he knew she was listening and liking this plan.
"Shit, I know you don't like it Ben, but Lucky could get access to places we can't. People tend to trust females more, and people will be curious as to who it is that has caught your eye, it makes sense. The body count is creeping up, we need to do something. This way Lucky can kick some ass in public making everyone realise that her being your mate is not going to make you a target, while also getting us the info that we need."
"No one would believe that I would be in Dream's for any reason." Ben didn’t like the idea of Lucky being there, even though he understood Darius' logic.
Looking at Ben and then Lucky, Theo who had been pretty quiet but clearly watching everything, added to the discussion.
"You can't go in Dream's Ben that would be obvious, but you know that Curico pumps me for information on Silvers. We always feed him a little something to keep him satisfied; it makes him think I am out to sabotage Silver. He also knows that I don't trust women, no point in denying it. It wouldn't be a wild leap to think that if Lucky is a bit of a rebel, and maybe not as into this Alpha shit as you, then it is feasible that I would bring her into Dreams for a bit of excitement, excitement that could make her leave the pack or make you get rid of her." Theo spoke a whole paragraph all the while eating more bacon and having not lifted his head to look at any of them.
Bastian smiled a satisfied smile. "That's a good idea Theo; if you want a career change let me know. Before you argue Ben, we could make sure Darius is also in the club, I can send other officers in for extra back up, and you can wait outside where you would be close enough to go in if there's a problem."
"No" "yes" Both looked at each other, their differences in opinion obvious.
"I am doing this Ben. People are dying and we need to do this, it's my job."
Bastian was smiling as he added to Darius' plan. "The other thing we would do Ben, is put Lucky under constant surveillance which will only be known to those of us in the room. It's quite possible that it will also help us find the sick bastard coming after her."
Bastian had a valid point there, one that even Ben had to concede. With a sigh he looked around the room at all of these people, some friends, some colleagues and one who was set to be the most important person in his life and he was faced with letting her walk into danger, if he didn’t she might walk away from him.
Chapt er 17
Ben was not convinced that this was a good idea, instead of verbalising this he was thinking his argument through before he put his foot in his mouth. When Bastian's phone rang and he left the house to answer, Ben was still pacing the hard wood floor desperately trying to think of an alternative solution.
"Ben, Lucky we have just had a box delivered to the station with your name on it. There is a definite smell of blood inside of the box so George and Mitch are getting it x-rayed and will run out here with it, Wanda's coming with them. Ben, I don't want Lucky and Darius to come into the office at all, well not until Dreams is shut down, and we find the weirdo who for some reason has clearly fixated on Lucky. Now I have some safe houses we can work from, we can set up a base from there."
"You will do it from here. No one in the pack will betray me, and I will know if they even consider it. We can meet over in the old gym, and that can be your base for this."
There was no way Ben was letting this happen without his full involvement, Ben focussed on Darius. "What happens at the end of this, you realise that you could make Lucky an even bigger target."
"Jesus Ben, Lucky has never been a target for anyone. What will happen is that people will realise that the strongest female is yours, and if anyone wants to get to you they will have to go through her, then through the pack. Believe me that is not the problem." Darius was clearly getting frustrated with Ben's over protectiveness, he knew Lucky in a different way to Ben and knew her strengths.
"Ah Darius you are sooo sweet." Lucky stood on her tiptoes and kissed his forehead; she was quickly grabbed and pulled into strong warm arms.
"Do not kiss other men." When she heard him growl low and hard, she smiled. Ben was easily riled, which was actually quite sweet, she had never thought that jealousy could be sexy, but in this case it was.
"It's Darius, not other men." Lucky smiled up at him and kissed him gently on the lips.
"Hey I am starting to feel a little unloved, and I can assure you Lucky, I am all man." Oh my god now Darius was in a pissing contest with Ben, when will this end?
She was tucked under Ben's arm which was wrapped around her in propriety when Lucky thought of another problem. "I don't look at anyone else this way, I promise. Just give me a minute though; I need to speak to Bastian alone."
"Why?"
"Nothing you need to worry about, it's a work thing." She had no intention of having this discussion in front of Ben; to do that would be inviting disaster.
Lucky knew Ben was watching, as she stepped outside and away from his stare. She was starting to feel as though her brother Lewis was here; he was as protective as Ben.
"I don't think that it's a good idea bringing George here, you know what he's like. If he starts giving me hassle, Ben will possibly over react. Unlike me he won't be able to walk away from him." The sun was shining down on her, kissing her face with its rays, the wind whipped through her tumbling hair.
"I am counting on it. I don't know how you walk away from him; I have expected you to have kicked his ass several times. I need him to come here; George is the wild card in this situation. He is the only one who knows who you are, and he goes to Dreams a lot."
Now it was Luckys turn to be surprised. "How do you know?"
"Just because I can't kick him out of the team, it doesn’t mean I don’t keep an eye on him. Wanda is coming with George so that she can place some safeguards around Silver's. More importantly she is bringing a little spell with her, one that will prevent George from talking about you at all. It could actually be quite amusing, every time he tries to talk about you, he will be crippled in pain. He knows that someone is after you, but knows nothing about this investigation which is how I plan to keep it. I need to get enough dirt on him to get him out of the team. In between that, I am pretty much expecting him to screw himself over. You know the law Lucky, if it happens on pack land and does not involve humans, I am powerless to intervene." Bastian had been facing her, though now he was peering over her head rather suddenly. Lucky didn’t notice in time to stop her next words.
"I will not let you use Ben like that. I don't like it; I don't need Ben getting involved. I can look after myself, and there is no way that George will stand there while Wanda cast a spell."
"I am relying on Ben for that." A slight smile tugged at the corner of Bastian face.
"How will you do that?" She saw Bastian look behind her again, this time with a frown on her face. "Bastian now is a good time to remind me how dumb I am to have forgotten Ben's superior hearing, and I am sure if I turn around he will be standing there with
some semblance of a frown."
Bastian started laughing. "Almost correct, but it's not a frown more like a look of thunder."
"Who the hell is George, and why would he give you hassle? Actually forget that I will see for myself. They are about to join us, Nicky is escorting them to the old gym. Theo, I want you to read everyone's energy signature to make sure they are not the ones after Lucky."
"I can assure you Ben that I would know if anyone from my team was involved in any of this." As much as he liked Ben, Bastian was not impressed that he was questioning the loyalty of his team.
"While I normally trust your judgment, I am not willing to trust anyone's judgment with Lucky so humour me. Let's go meet them."
He took Lucky's hand, and strangely he could feel her anxiety. "Why so worried he sounds like a jerk."
"He is without doubt a jerk the thing is that throughout my career I have had jerks like George trying to piss me off, I walk away from it. He has friends in high places, and I don't want him to cause problems for you or the pack. It's not a huge problem."
He wanted to take her in his arms and kiss away her worries. She thought to protect him; the idea was ludicrous really. "How about I do nothing, unless he provokes me?"
As she saw the car pull up, she knew it was not going to go well until she saw Mitch, then she couldn't help but smile. Mitch always brightened her day; he was kind, thoughtful, funny and sweet, where ever Mitch was there was light and happiness even if he didn’t feel it. Taking in his big grin and warm facial expressions her feelings of impending drama settled.
"Hey princess, you are looking fantastic. I thought I would bring you a pleasant gift to make up for the bad gift that we have brought."
Pulling a bunch of flowers out of the car, Mitch caught her up in a big, bear hug. She saw that George was occupied on his cell which pleased her, let him stay occupied. Amid all of her anxiety Lucky could hear Ben growling.
"Um Lucky, should I act worried about the big scary looking dude behind you? The one growling at me, cos I am thinking that he looks a bit territorial right now."
Silvers Alpha (The Silver Series) Page 14