by Angela White
Resentment splashed the tables, causing Adrian to give them sharp glares. He didn’t mind their feelings about him, but he wouldn’t tolerate evidence of it in public. Without using his alpha gift, Adrian controlled his team.
The higher-ups who were watching the competition were aware of how tightly Mitchel ruled his men and how little effort it took. While they liked that, it was obvious it wasn’t going to work out with this crew.
“The next shooter is Jack Devine!”
There was thunderous response from the females. Considered the playboy of the team, Jack also had a wife. Adrian had met her during a company gathering and wondered how Jack had gotten lucky enough to snag the former beauty queen.
Jack swaggered up to the line, also hitting the timer just right. As he began shooting targets, he preened for the crowd of women, missing his chance to match Adrian.
“Good, but not good enough.”
Flushing at the public embarrassment, Jack scowled at the announcer.
Bryson dropped his head and continued to relay what was going on for the crowd. He didn’t like the public part of his job, but he was determined to do it well. “Our next shooter is J. Stevens”!
As the underlings took their turn, Adrian let his mind go to the place that it preferred to be these days–with Shannon. Assigned to watch her while in witness protection, Shannon was an Invisible, but he didn’t hold that against her like some of his team would have. Shannon’s relatives had been gathering rebel descendants for a war with the government. Because she had turned them in, she was being given protection until she could be transported to a safe facility.
“Not even close!”
Stevens and Kranten shared roughly the same shooting ability, so Adrian wasn’t surprised that the two men were doing so badly. They always had. Their gifts didn’t rest with guns.
“The next shooter is Garrett!”
The crowd cheered for Garret, but not as loud as they had for Adrian and Jack. Even the women knew Garret wasn’t right somehow, though he hid it well. Still, he was the most reliable man on the team and Adrian’s friend–as far as he had any here. Adrian had taken Garret’s spot as leader when he arrived, expecting problems, but Garret had accepted it like a man and offered a hand. He was the only one Adrian trusted.
“Ready to call me boss?”
“Sure.” Adrian grinned as his friend sauntered to the line. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”
Challenged, Garret’s timing off the line was good, allowing him to do some of the best shooting that Adrian had ever witnessed off the field. It wasn’t good enough, but it was still great for Garret.
“Close, but no cigar!”
Garrett slid into the chair next to Adrian, noting a bruise on his forearm. He assumed it was a bruise, because even though it looked like a hickey, it was an odd place to have one.
“Better luck next time.”
Garrett nodded at the quip as if it didn’t bother him, but inside he was boiling. There had to be something he could beat Adrian at. Glad for the powerful mental shield he’d been gifted with, Garret stewed.
Erik took a spot on the line, knowing they now had Adrian as their team leader for another two years. Garret had been their only real hope. If not for how strong Adrian’s alpha ability was, and his military skills, the man never would have been placed with them. It helped that he had a protector in the chain of command, but Erik wasn’t petty enough to deny that Mitchel deserved to be team leader. He just wished the man would screw up somewhere, somehow, and prove that he was human.
Frustrated, Erik directed the rage into his aim and not where Adrian was sitting.
“That is just amazing, folks! Did you see that!”
Not immune to the rivalry, Adrian snickered. “All muscles and no brains.”
It told Erik, and everyone else, that Adrian had access to their test scores.
Erik flushed, giving Garrett a pointed glower.
Garrett sighed. They didn’t have anything on Mitchel. If one of them challenged him for team leader through the other channels, they didn’t have anything to back it up and they would lose. Then, Adrian would pay them back for their betrayal. After ten years of hunting descendants for the government while doing jobs on the side, Adrian Mitchel had already built a reputation that few men would be able to match in their lifetimes, but everyone on his team was forced to try.
“Let’s have Vlad next!”
Vlad moved towards the spot with a saunter that implied he knew he was about to win the competition. Adrian suspected the killer was about to be disappointed, but he wasn’t sure. Vlad was mostly unreliable in a firefight, but sometimes he got lucky. The tall, lanky man’s gift rested in his ability to zap someone before they knew it was coming. Vlad was incredibly quick when it came to magic and movement.
“Want to get a beer when this is done?”
Adrian actually did, but he shook his head. “I have duty for the next twelve hours. Catch me in a few days.”
Garrett would have accepted the answer if not for the slightly defensive edge to Adrian’s tone. It was something that only happened when their team leader was lying. Garrett was one of the few people who’d picked it up. He had shared the information with Erik, who exchanged a glance with him now. Adrian was lying about being on duty for the next twelve hours.
Without speaking or even directly thinking about it, the two men agreed to follow him.
4
“Well, that certainly explains things.”
Expecting a reply, Erik looked over to find Garrett staring in the apartment window with an expression that he immediately recognized. He had his own obsession hidden away in the little shack in the hills. “Should we change our plans?” While following Adrian, the two men had decided that it was time for him to die in battle.
“I have a better idea now.” Garrett hadn’t looked away from the bed where Adrian and a stunning blonde woman were entwined, moaning and groaning. “You go on. I’ll catch up with you.”
Erik assumed Garrett would be the team leader again after they got rid of Adrian. He left without argument, thinking of the dusky woman who was on missing posters in several states. He had loved Michelle since he’d first met her and even though she had refused his advances, they were together and would be forever. He wished the same happiness on Garrett.
Behind him, Garrett continued to study the woman. Adrian’s death was a certainty in his mind now. After seeing the female Adrian was spending time with, Garrett understood that man would have to die in order to avoid payback. Garrett wasn’t sure how it would happen yet, but he was certain that it would be by his hand.
Mentally complaining about how long that could take, Garrett overlooked the obvious until he noticed the security guard standing in front of the building where Adrian and the woman were. She was a witness under protection. Adrian was an agent assigned to guarding her. The relationship was forbidden.
Garrett smiled.
5
“You realize the outcome of this trial will determine your future in the service?”
Adrian nodded stiffly, horrified that Shannon had been dragged into the military trial that was going on around him. He also felt bad for the embarrassed team huddling in the corner, trying not to draw attention.
“Before we hear from you, we’ll talk to your team. We’ll start with the XO and work our way down.”
“Sir, the witness needs to be back under protection as soon as possible. Can we switch the order of testimony?”
“Defense?”
“Defense has no objection.”
“Very well. Miss Meeks, this is an informal hearing. You are not required to take the stand. However, you are required to swear an oath.”
Adrian watched Shannon flush and twitch. As she recited the oath, her eyes landed anywhere except his.
Adrian’s stomach churned as he caught her thoughts. He didn’t know what had happened, but Shannon had turned on him.
“Miss Meeks, we only have a few que
stions for you. Is there anything you would like to say before we begin?”
Shannon clenched her fists together, casting a quick, scared glance toward the team of men in the corner waiting for her response.
“Miss Meeks?”
Shannon finally looked at Adrian, stunning him with the hatred there. “I was scared of him. He didn’t rape me, but he did take advantage of me. I have a drinking problem.”
The room rang with protests and shouts, but Adrian didn’t hear any of them. All he could hear was Shannon’s betrayal. It was a loud, cracking sound that broke his heart and then set it on fire.
Shannon refused to look at him as she continued her testimony.
In the corner, Garrett and Erik exchanged a satisfied glance. After the team added their testimony, Adrian would be found guilty. He wouldn’t be dead, but his punishment would include a transfer and that was good enough.
Realizing he had been betrayed, Adrian felt hatred enter his heart and take up a permanent residence. There will be payback for this.
6
“It took me three years to get to a place where I was ready to have that moment.” Adrian looked around the RV, where he had full attention from everyone except the driver. “I’m sure you can imagine how I felt. I had been set up and betrayed by all of them. If not for my connections, they would have gotten away with it.”
“Let me guess.” Marc sneered. “Daddy stepped in.”
Adrian nodded. “I was transferred to a Marine base. I had a great team there. We did some amazing things and not all of them were bad. However, my anger made me reckless. Since I didn’t care if I died, they were quick to send me into the most dangerous places that needed to be cleared. I always survived.”
My nightmare. Marc gestured Adrian to go on. He was enjoying the story.
“Do I have to do this?” Adrian turned to Angela suddenly, angry. “Haven’t you paid me back enough yet?”
Angela didn’t respond.
Sighing in resentment, Adrian threw himself backward into the seat and finished his story. “I watched them through the window this time, picking the perfect moment to make my entrance.”
7
“Congratulations!” Garrett slapped Erik on the back.
“Same to you!”
Both men now had a baby on the way, joining four other members of their team who were also about to be fathers. It had turned their weekly celebration into complaints about being tied down that masked their pride.
“When is our new team leader supposed to get here?”
Close to drunk, Garrett shrugged at Jack’s question. They’d been informed that Erik was being replaced, but they hadn’t been told who it was.
Eric was taking it well. He hadn’t liked being team leader. There was too much paperwork and not enough blood.
“There are only half a dozen candidates. I hope we get Shelby.”
“We had the best team in the field last year.” Eric sneered. “Shelby can’t keep up with that.” While he didn’t want the job anymore, he wasn’t about to serve under someone who couldn’t live up to what they’d built.
“As long as it’s not Mitchel.”
The table of four agreed, tossing nasty remarks and complaints.
“I was in Venice eighteen months ago when he took out that terrorist cell. I got tired of hearing his name.”
“Same here. I went to South America last year and that was all I heard. He’s been busy making a name for himself since we ran him out.”
“Yeah. He was in New York two months ago while Shannon and I were on our honeymoon.” Garrett’s scowl took up his entire face. “With his name all over the news like that, it ruined the mood. I had to demand my husbandly rights.”
The men fell back into complaints about the women in their lives and the restrictions of fatherhood.
In the corner, Bryson watched the table in resentment. It had been three years since they’d betrayed a great team leader, but Bryson hadn’t left. He wanted to, but he didn’t have the courage. Instead, he stayed in the outcast position so that he could say he was a member of the team. It was a lonely life, but Vlad’s sister, Sonya, was here. Bryson wasn’t leaving even if she did marry Isaac.
The door to the pub opened, ringing the chime as their base CO entered.
“Gentlemen, your new team leader.”
The dead silence in the room alerted the men at the table to the problem. All of them turned toward the doorway, where their nightmare stood, grin encompassing his face.
The commander slipped out, not wanting to be here for the fight in case the civilian police were called or the press found out.
The team waited, wondering if Adrian had figured out what they’d done to him.
Adrian was enjoying the moment. He’d been fantasizing about this for years, especially while making their wives scream in pleasure.
“None of the babies are yours.”
8
Everyone in the RV was laughing or grinning, almost unable to believe it was a true story even though they knew it had to be. Adrian’s reputation with the ladies since they had known him was legendary. It had just become infamous.
The only person in the RV not laughing was Angela. For Adrian to do something like that, he’d been bitterly hurt by Shannon’s betrayal. That only happened when you loved someone.
“What did you do to the woman?” Morgan had to ask.
“I loved her.” Adrian didn’t tell them he still believed Shannon had been under Garret’s control. Adrian had been the stronger alpha on the team, but Garrett had been right behind him and he hadn’t been above using his gifts on non-descendants. None of them were allowed to do that except on runs.
“I almost feel bad for her.” Samantha was peering down the hallway, now lying in the bunk. “It sounds like she got screwed.”
“It sounds like she was a skank.”
Angela flushed as people laughed and stared at her.
“Jealous much?” Kenn wasn’t worried about her reaction. It was clear that she was.
Angela shrugged, crossing her arms over her chest. “Whatever.”
The cabin filled with loud laughter.
“What happened next?” Kendle was wide awake. “Don’t leave us hanging like that.”
“Yeah, did you ever see the woman again?” Samantha hadn’t heard all of the stories from Little Rock.
“Why didn’t you just kill them?” Morgan didn’t understand.
Marc did. “He let them live so he could keep paying them back.”
Adrian nodded at Marc’s observation. “I was in their faces for the next ten years. I was there for every run, every drill, and of course, every company family reunion, where I rubbed it in as deep as I could get it. By the time the war came, they hated me more than anyone else on the planet.”
Marc sympathized with the men. Adrian was an unshakable virus that continued to wear down the immune system until the host simply gave up.
“My team felt the same way long before then.”
“What about the babies?”
Everyone was surprised that the question had come from Kenn, who was glaring at Adrian.
“A few of them lived happy, healthy lives, never knowing who their real father was.” Adrian had the grace to flush. “I didn’t think about the kids when I planned things.”
“You never do.” Marc was angry. “Conner’s problems are your fault.”
Adrian nodded. “I wish I had thought it through. At the time, I believed he would be taken care of and that Shannon would be happy to have our baby. She was, by the way. She loved me without reservation. She accepted me for who I am–a killer. No one else ever has.”
Angela winced.
No one spoke for a moment, feeling the sadness that Adrian had obviously gone through for a long time.
“That was one hell of a bedtime story.”
Adrian shrugged. “You asked for it.” He frowned at her. “I’m just not sure why.”
Angela gestured at the other me
mbers of the team. “They need to know what kind of person you really are. They thought they knew how harsh you can be, but I wanted them to understand that it goes way beyond that with you.”
Adrian frowned. “Why? I’m not a threat to anyone here anymore.”
“We both know that’s not true. You’re just as coldhearted now as you were back then.”
The other occupants of the RV didn’t necessarily agree that Adrian’s actions had been coldhearted. Kenn did, and Marc believed that it was proof of every suspicion he’d ever had about Adrian lingering until he wore Angela down, but everyone else almost understood that the men had deserved it for their betrayal. The only hang-up was that the women and children had suffered.
Not wanting to, but without a choice, Adrian gave Angela what she wanted. “At the time, it seemed like the perfect revenge. I’m older now. I doubt that I would make the same choices.” Adrian refused to look at anyone as he finished. “I’m sorry for all the things I’ve done, all the trouble I’ve caused. I’ll work as hard as I can to earn your forgiveness and I’ll understand if I never get it. If any of my team had apologized to me afterwards, I don’t think it would have mattered, but it still would have been the right thing to do. I should have already apologized to all of you personally and I’m sorry that I didn’t.”
Satisfied for the moment, Angela gestured toward the clock on the dashboard that was no longer working. “Enough drama. How long until the camp stops?”
Morgan frowned. “Less than two hours.”
Angela’s stare caused Morgan to pull the RV over. “She wants a hell hound behind the wheel.”
Marc took the seat.
Chapter Forty-One
I Dare You
1
“They aren’t here. What should we do?”
Charlie wasn’t sure. He and Conner had decided to slow the convoy to thirty miles an hour as soon as it got dark, hoping to buy more time, but the Eagles had just called in a cleared campsite and everyone in the line of cars and trucks behind them was ready to stop for the night. As soon as people began to get out of the vehicles and Angela didn’t take charge of setting up camp, they would know something was going on.