"I couldn't lose you again,” she whispered, staring at her hands in her lap.
Rogan wrapped her ankle in clean white gauze and sighed.
"Losing you once was hard enough, Rogan. If I lost you again, I think I'd literally go insane. I couldn't let that happen. I had to do something, even if that meant risking my own life to save yours."
Rogan said nothing as he stared at her, but she could tell by the look in his eyes that he wasn't pleased.
"You would have done the same thing,” she said, raising her chin a notch. “You know you would have."
"That's different."
"Why? How is it different?” she asked with a scoff, throwing up her hands. “Because you're a man?"
"No!” he yelled at her. “Because I'm a shifter, and I can defend myself. Christ, woman, don't you get it? You didn't have to come to my rescue. I was doing just fine!"
"Oh? Is that why I heard you yelping when Sean knocked the wind out of you? Is that why you couldn't get up after he hit you? He was going to kill you, Rogan!” Marlie's chin trembled, and she tried hard to keep the tears at bay.
Rogan ran his fingers through his hair and tilted his head back to glare at the ceiling. Wade shuffled into the living room, his chest bare except for his bandage. But the man still managed to grin at Marlie.
"She's right, you know,” Wade said, making Rogan's head snap down to look at him. “Sean woulda killed you if someone hadn't done something. I was hurt and Noah was pulling me out of there. The other shifters hadn't even made it downstairs yet. Marlie saw her chance and she took it. Don't be so hard on her."
Rogan growled as Wade gingerly sat on the couch next to them.
"I had things under control."
"No, you didn't,” Wade said in a sarcastic voice. “You were winded and on the ground. Another few seconds and you would've been nothing more than a meal in Sean's belly."
Rogan balled his hands into fists, and his knuckles went white. Marlie didn't have to smell his scent to know his anger permeated the room.
"I told Marlie to get into the house, but she didn't listen."
"No, she didn't, and thank God for it. You're alive because of her, Wolfe,” Wade said, leaning over to look around Marlie at his friend. “Seems to me you should be thanking her instead of biting her head off."
"Don't worry about it, Wade,” Marlie said, patting his hand. “I know what I did was stupid."
"No, it was desperate,” Wade replied, grabbing her hand and squeezing it tight. “Rogan's just pissed because he thought he'd lose you."
Marlie looked up at her husband and saw his eyes soften. Her heart burst with love at that moment, and all she wanted to do was fling herself into his arms.
"Promise me you won't do anything like that ever again,” he said as he tucked a stray hair behind her ears.
"If your life is at stake, I can't make that promise,” she answered.
Rogan sighed.
"Looks like you found a woman who is just as protective of you as you are of her,” Wade said with a chuckle.
"Am I going to have to tie you up?” Rogan asked her, shaking his head.
"Oh, I don't know,” Marlie answered, running her hand up his chest. “That might actually be fun."
Wade cracked up then doubled over in pain, coughing behind his hand.
Rogan grinned himself. “You okay, Wade?"
"I will be in a day or two. Christ."
Rogan yanked Marlie into his arms and kissed the top of her head. After a few moments of silence, he gave her another squeeze and whispered, “Thank you, sweetheart. For everything."
Pulling back to look into his eyes, Marlie stroked his cheek and smiled. “You're welcome. Now shut up and kiss me."
Thirty Seven
"Mind if we take one of the rifles?” Mac leaned against the counter, watching Noah making lunch in the kitchen.
Noah turned around, his eyes wide. “Take it where?"
Mac hung his head and sighed. His eyes were red-rimmed and he looked weary, but Noah hadn't been able to make him get any rest. The three shifters Sean had killed had been some of his closest friends, and he hadn't taken the news of their death very well. Now, it would seem, he wanted to take on the entire B*E*A*S*T* agency by himself.
"Me, Jet, and Trevor want to go poking around in the wilderness again,” Mac said. “If that second compound is out there, we're gonna raze it."
Noah stood there for a second, shocked at the bitterness behind his words. “We don't even know if that compound even exists. That scientist Lucian could have been lying."
Mac nodded, pursing his lips. “True, but if he was telling the truth, we've got to know."
"Hey, I have an idea,” Wade said, limping over to the counter and leaning on it heavily.
"What's that?” Noah wanted to know.
"I say we go after that bastard Covington."
Noah sighed and shook his head. “Even if he is the guy, Wade, we can't just go attack a U.S. senator. They'd peg us as terrorists and kill us all!"
"That man can't be allowed to continue what he's doing, Noah,” Wade insisted. “He's got to be stopped!"
"Don't think I'm not right there with you, Wade, but we've got to think about this. Maybe Mac is right. Maybe what we have to do is look for this second agency and see if it really exists."
"You and Rogan were lucky when you destroyed the compound in Colorado,” Wade said. “But I don't think you'll be so lucky a second time around. Whatever security they have will probably have been beefed up on the off chance you'd try it again. And how do you know you wouldn't be walking into a trap? Maybe that scientist is counting on the fact that you'll look for the facility."
"Maybe, but the odds are better than taking down Covington. He needs to be exposed, that much is obvious,” Noah said. “But we can't go all vigilante and expect anyone to take us seriously."
"Yes, but once the public sees what we can do, they'll be on our side."
"No, they won't,” Mac said, leaning against the counter on his elbow. “They'll see nothing but a bunch of freaks. And that's all we are. The B*E*A*S*T* agency is secret for a reason. If it became common knowledge that shifters existed, we'd only be captured by the public authorities and tortured again to see what we can do! We have to stay quiet and bring B*E*A*S*T* down from the inside out."
"I agree,” Noah said, nodding.
Wade sighed and nodded himself, but Noah could smell his irritation. He couldn't blame him for wanting to rip out Covington's throat. The thought had occurred to him as well. But if the man was as important as he seemed to be, they couldn't just waltz up and kill him without there being serious repercussions.
Laying a hand on his friend's shoulder, Noah said, “Don't worry, Wade. Covington will get his. I think all of us will see to that.” Turning to Mac, he added, “Do you have the map Dr. Carver drew before he escaped?"
Mac reached into his pocket and pulled it out, waving it in the air. “Sure do."
"All right. Go ahead and take one of the rifles and the tranq gun. Leave us the other rifle and Marlie's shotgun."
"Sure thing."
"Oh, and Mac?” Noah said, grabbing his arm.
"Yeah?"
"Take this.” Reaching into his pocket, Noah pulled out his cell phone. “Just in case."
Mac grabbed the phone and smiled as he walked down the hall.
"You think they'll find anything?” Wade asked with a scowl.
"For all our sakes,” Noah replied. “I hope not."
* * * *
Lanie and Marlie were in the living room talking about their men. Lanie was telling her the wild stories about Noah and how they'd had to keep on their toes to stay one step ahead of Tam, the ruthless shifter that had been after them only a few weeks before.
"Noah just celebrated his birthday last week,” Lanie said, smiling. “I even baked a cake."
"You did?” Marlie asked with a grin of her own. “What kind?"
A loud voice screamed from behi
nd them. “DESINO!"
What the hell? Marlie turned to look behind her, but before she could, a blinding pain filled her head with a white flash of light.
Marlie sat bolt upright in the pull-out bed with a squeal, glancing around the living room as she took in her surroundings. Her heart was beating out of control, and she couldn't calm her breathing no matter how hard she tried. She and Rogan had lain down in the living room for a nap after lunch. Now, however, Rogan sat up as well, touching her shoulder.
"Marlie? Are you all right?” he asked groggily.
She glanced at him wide-eyed and swallowed hard. “I had a dream,” she said, lifting her palm to her forehead. “Or at least I think it was a dream."
"That's to be expected after what we just went through last night."
Marlie shook her head as realization dawned in her eyes. “No, Rogan, this wasn't a dream about Sean. I ... I think I dreamt ... oh, my God!"
"What, Marlie? What is it?"
Marlie's body began trembling as she stared into her husband's beautiful brown eyes.
"I think I remember Lucian's safe word!"
* * * *
Mac and the others had left the house a few hours earlier to search for the second B*E*A*S*T* compound, leaving only Noah, Wade, and Rogan behind with the women. All three of them sat around the small dining room table with Lanie and Marlie, who were glancing at each other nervously.
Once Marlie had mentioned the word to Lanie, she'd also remembered hearing Dr. Carver scream it at the top of his lungs before being knocked out herself.
"What's the word?” Wade asked, looking at Marlie.
"Well, she can't say it, genius.” Rogan smacked Wade on the shoulder.
"Maybe she can write it down."
"Maybe, but we should test it,” Noah said. “Who'll volunteer?"
When no one raised their hand, Wade sighed loudly. “All right, I'll volunteer. Damn it."
"Good!” Rogan said with a grin as he clapped his hands together once. “Lanie, you mind getting a pen for Marlie since she still can't walk by herself?"
Marlie blushed at that, knowing full well she could probably hobble around on her own, but Rogan insisted on carrying her everywhere—even to the bathroom. If he didn't constantly complain, she'd begin to think Rogan enjoyed taking care of her.
Once Marlie had written the word on a scrap of paper, she folded it and handed it to Wade. He opened it and read it to himself. Nothing happened.
"This is it?” he asked, holding the paper up in his fingers.
Marlie nodded. “Yeah."
"Des—"
"Jesus, Wade! Don't say it!” Rogan grabbed the paper from his hand and crumpling it up.
Wade smiled while Noah shook his head. “Easy, Wolfe,” he said through his grin. “You're so jumpy."
Rogan rolled his eyes and growled, taking a look at the paper himself.
"Looks like another language. I don't think that's English.” He handed it to Noah, who nodded.
"Wonder what it means?"
"Let's go find out, shall we?” Wade scooted out of his chair and walked down the hall toward the family room.
Everyone followed him to the computer, including Marlie, who once again found herself in her husband's arms. But she didn't complain. She merely wrapped her arms around his neck, content to be close to him.
After a few minutes of searching on the Internet, Wade said, “It's Latin."
"What does it mean?” Noah asked, leaning over him to look at the monitor.
"You'll never believe this,” Wade said, glancing at Rogan.
"What?"
"It means ‘to leave off, stop, give over, cease, and desist'. Fitting for a safe word, don't you think?"
Noah whistled through his teeth. “Let's test it out loud."
"Why?” Wade asked.
"To make sure it's the word,” Rogan said with a shrug. “It didn't affect us written on paper, but maybe that's because it needs to be spoken aloud. Fortunately for us, you've already volunteered, my friend."
"Lucky me,” Wade said, making a sour face. “Just promise me one thing."
"Hmm?"
"If I do become catatonic, don't go having fun at my expense, okay?"
Rogan chuckled. “I make no promises."
"I'll stay and say it, since you have your arms full,” Lanie offered to Rogan. “You and Noah go away for a minute. Maybe outside where you can't hear me."
"All right."
Once Noah, Marlie, and Rogan were outside behind the house, they stood there glancing out over the Columbia River in silence until Rogan turned to ask Noah a question.
"Do you think we can be conditioned to disregard the safe word?"
"What do you mean?” Noah asked.
"I mean, if we've been conditioned to go catatonic, maybe there's a way to reverse it, so the safe word no longer works."
Noah nodded. “Maybe. Perhaps with hypnosis or something."
The back door opened and Lanie stuck her head out.
"It worked."
Thirty Eight
After a couple of days of rest and recuperation, Wade was like new. He had a few red scars on his chest where Sean's claws had dug into his skin, but he was healed for the most part. Marlie's ankle also felt well enough to walk on, but she still limped everywhere she went. At least Rogan had stopped insisting that he carry her all over creation.
They were all watching Dr. Phil on TV one afternoon when Sean's cell phone began to ring on the kitchen counter. All of them looked at each other in shock before Wade leapt up first to swipe the phone into his hand.
"Don't answer it!” Noah yelled, holding out his hand. “Let it go to voicemail."
"Why?” Wade asked. “The Caller I.D. says it's Covington!"
"That's exactly why, Wade! We cannot interact with that man. Not now. Not yet."
Wade made a face and stood there staring at the phone in indecision. After a few rings, it stopped and a red light flashed moments later.
"He must have left a message,” Wade said.
"So what are you waiting for?” Rogan asked in an irritated voice. “Listen to what he has to say!"
Wade flipped open the phone and browsed through the menu until he found the voicemail prompt, then he held the phone up to his ear and licked his lips nervously as he listened to the recorded message.
"Sean, it's Covington. You haven't reported in for days. What the hell is going on out there? Do I need to send Brett again? You call me within the next twenty-four hours or I'm going to start hunting you. And you'd better not have hurt that cougar."
With wide eyes, Wade snapped the phone shut and ran his fingers through his hair.
"Well?” Noah asked.
"It was Covington all right. He wanted to know what was going on and why Sean hasn't reported in for a few days. He wants Sean to contact him within twenty-four hours. And he said..."
"What?” Rogan asked when he trailed off.
"He said that Sean better not have hurt the cougar."
Noah looked confused. “Wait, he wants us dead, but you alive? Don't take this personally, but what's so special about you, Wade?"
"If I knew that, don't you think I'd tell you?” Wade paced the floor before turning back to Noah and Rogan. “Back in Alaska, when Sean captured me, I heard him talking on his phone. He mentioned something about the old man wanting the cougar."
"I remember that,” Marlie piped up, hobbling over to where they stood. “That's when I made my lame crack about John Cougar Mellencamp."
Wade smiled at the memory, but it quickly faded. “I have no idea why Covington wants me alive so badly."
"Maybe he thinks you're the only one who can successfully be reintegrated back into the B*E*A*S*T* program,” Noah suggested.
With a shudder, Wade said, “God, I hope not."
"Makes sense, though,” Rogan replied, glancing at Noah. “You and I were the ones who infiltrated the compound in Colorado. We just picked up Wade from his cell and walked out.
Maybe Covington wants to know exactly how much Wade can remember from his life before. They were drugging him, after all."
Wade growled. “Don't remind me, Wolfe. Every time they came to drug me, all I wanted to do was rip their friggin’ arms off."
Closing his eyes, Wade tried hard not to remember those times. The scientists at B*E*A*S*T* had drugged any shifter who could remember flashes from their lives before and had scheduled them for reprogramming. Noah and Rogan had come to his rescue before they'd had a chance to brainwash Wade a second time. Thank God.
"Well, what can you remember?” Noah asked.
Wade shook his head and sighed. “Nothing great. I can remember bits and pieces of an apartment. I can see the tiny kitchen and the bathroom. And another memory I have is of driving a car on some road, but God only knows what road and what kind of car it was."
"Do you remember anyone specific? Any faces or names?"
"Nope. There's no one with me in my memories. But sometimes, when I wake up, it's almost like I expect myself to be somewhere else. Like all of this,"—he spread his arms wide—"has been nothing but a dream."
"They drugged you over that trivial crap?” Rogan folded his arms over his chest, clearly annoyed.
Wade nodded. “Yeah. Some other guys could remember a lot more than I did, so they were the ones who were scheduled first for reprogramming."
"Well, we do know that everything we did at that compound was caught on tape,” Noah said. “And I'd be willing to bet my left nut that Covington knows what we look like. Maybe..."
"What?"
"Maybe he knows you."
Wade's eyes went wide. “Are you suggesting—"
Noah held up his hands. “I'm not suggesting anything. But it's possible that he knows you from the compound somehow. Maybe he went on a tour of the place and saw you during one of the scientists’ tests. At this point, without knowing more, all we can do is speculate."
"Then what the hell are we going to do after the twenty-four hours is up and Sean doesn't call this guy?” Wade began pacing again. “He swore that he'd hunt Sean down if he didn't get back to him."
"If Sean knew exactly where to find us, then Lucian must have informed Covington of where we are,” said Rogan. “That means we'll have to leave this place for sure. Go somewhere else."
B*E*A*S*T* of Burden Page 18