Lucan: #14 (Luna Lodge)

by Madison Stevens

  If only he’d seen it that way. He’d saved her life, but seemed to have little interest in her otherwise. Other than the night of the fire, the hybrid had ignored her existence.

  She’d asked about Lucan shortly before leaving the Lodge, and Cato, the acting leading of the Lodge, told her to just forget about him. Some sort of bro solidarity thing, she guessed.

  Jamie huffed a little. Men did not just ignore her. That was not a thing that tended to happen to her, and it was still a bit of a sore spot.

  She understood that hybrids were special, that once they fell in love it was typically for life, but as far as she knew, he didn’t have anyone. Why couldn’t she be the special one?

  Maybe it wouldn’t hurt so much if she didn’t want Lucan so badly. Whether it was gratitude, destiny, or something else entirely, she still found herself all but obsessed with the man.

  Jamie looked at the frown on her face. More and more she’d caught herself doing that. It wasn’t a look she was used to seeing on herself, and she doubted it would get her many tips. Men liked happy, not angry.

  “New day, new dollar,” she whispered.

  Jamie stood up straight and shook out all the bad feelings that had slipped in. There were about a million things going on right now, and thinking about Lucan wasn’t going to do her a damn bit of good.

  Chapter Three

  The sun dipped over the horizon and only made it harder to see in the old and abandoned mill. The place hadn’t hosted workers in years, but recently it’d served as a facility to help make innocent people susceptible to mind control.

  Small pieces of debris and tiny remnants of old equipment littered the ground, most of which looked to be from the commercial days. Even for a super-human like himself, it was a challenge to tell what could be useful or might provide any insight into their enemies and their plans.

  Lucan had tossed every square inch of the place and turned up nothing useful. Hours of searching for squat. It didn’t help that the government had already sent in dozens of men before the hybrids could really take a good look.

  Even then, from what he could find out from Colonel Hall, the government people hadn’t exactly found a treasure-trove of evidence. They’d found a few syringes and pieces of equipment here and there, but nothing to prove a major and sinister mind-control operation had operated out of the place.

  Hell, if they’d found all the equipment, the general wouldn’t be demanding they run around proving the case.

  Something about the whole situation bothered Lucan. When had the Group gotten so clean? At least, they all assumed the Group was involved. He doubted some other random organization would be so hell-bent on using experimental technologies to fuck with the hybrids.

  Lucan had never known their scientists to be like this before. Most left shit everywhere when they bailed on a place. Usually piles and piles of data. Or for that matter, people.

  After all the Luna Lodge hybrids had been left to rot and die when the authorities had come close to discovering their facility. And yet this place had been cleaned up before they’d had a chance to find much of anything that could be used against the Group.

  Frustration ran through him. He was sick of going up against these people and coming back empty-handed. Just once he’d like to see the hybrids get a real win that didn’t result in his people being public enemy number one in the news and more government troops being sent to watch them.

  Lucan picked up the chair sitting next to him and tossed it at the wall. It clattered against the wooden door frame and landed hard on the floor next to it. The chair cracked in half from the force.

  “Fuck,” he roared.

  Several birds that had been roosting overhead fluttered out the holes in the ceiling.

  He stopped, focusing and listening for a moment.

  In his anger, he nearly missed the sound: a small ting of metal that echoed through the room. He’d barely heard it, and he was a hybrid. A human would have missed it.

  He carefully looked around the room before focusing on the area near the door. A small key lay on the floor. It definitely wasn’t there before. He’d knocked it loose from its hiding space.

  Lucan picked up the key and stared at it. Apparently the government people weren’t as thorough as he thought.

  He didn’t really care. More than anything, he cared that they now finally had some sort of concrete lead.

  Lucan turned the key over in his hand.

  11203.

  The numbers were written clearly across the key with US Post on the back. Maybe a post office box?

  Lucan looked over the key a bit more, trying to make sure it wasn’t hiding any more surprises. It seemed odd that the people behind the mind-control operation would rely on something like a post office box, but it wasn’t like anyone had a clear understanding of what sort of strategies they used.

  When his further inspection revealed no hidden trickery or secrets, he decided the key was exactly what it appeared to be.

  He pulled out his phone and started looking at nearby post offices. It couldn’t be that far away, or it wouldn’t be useful at all.

  Lucan chuckled. It was his lucky day. Only one of the post offices had a number that matched the key.

  He glanced at the time on his phone. It was two towns away. He’d be cutting it close, but it was the only lead they had.

  He dialed Cato. A second later the call connected.

  “I think I found something,” Lucan said into the phone, as he made his way quickly back to his motorcycle out front.

  “What?” Cato said, genuine surprise in his voice.

  “It’s a key to a post office box. Might not be anything, but I’m going to check it out now.”

  “A key? They managed to miss a key?”

  “It was hidden.”

  “Okay. You want backup? I could send Nikon.”

  Lucan hopped onto his bike. “Nah, let him mend. I’ve got this.”

  Cato sighed. Lucan knew the stress of being leader was already starting to weigh on him. Knowing his men were suffering and there wasn’t anything he could do didn’t sit well with any man of action, let alone a hybrid.

  “He keeps asking for an assignment,” Cato said. “I just don’t know what to do with his anger.” Cato sighed again. “I can’t send him out when he’s like this. He’ll just make new problems.”

  “He just needs time,” Lucan said.

  Cato grunted. “I’m not so sure that’s all it will take.”

  Lucan struggled to find the right words, but he just wasn’t a second-in-command who was good at these things. The best way he could help was to find out who was responsible for the attack that had cost Nikon his brother and take them out of the equation.

  “Okay, stay sharp,” Cato said. “No telling what you’re walking into with all the shit going on. Do whatever you can to not fight anyone in town, mind-controlled or not. You never know. This could be a trap.”

  “Got it.”

  Lucan hung up and placed the phone in his pocket.

  Cato wasn’t wrong. It could be a plant. With as clean as the place was, it could just as easily be something they meant for them to find to lead the hybrids on a wild goose chase. Either way, though, he had to check it out.

  He hit the clutch on his bike and revved the engine before taking off.

  * * *

  “Shit, the creeper is back for you,” Jamie said.

  May wrinkled her perfect small nose and tossed her soft blond hair over her shoulder. The twenty-year old was the wet dream of nearly every college meathead within a five-mile radius, and she liked to let everyone know as often as she could.

  Jamie only thought of dunking her perfect head in the toilet about a dozen times a night.

  “He’s all yours, Jamie,” May said, and sniffed. Last time he was in, he called me vapid, whatever that means.”

  Jamie had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing. She wasn’t fond of Aaron, and he for sure was creepy, but that didn’t mean he
couldn’t be right about May.

  Jamie was fairly certain the only thing of substance May ever talked about was her favorite margarita flavor, which was apparently strawberry. Also her favorite condom flavor as well.

  There was no such thing as TMI when it came to May. She seemed to think her opinions were obviously of interest to everyone around her.

  “It’s fine, May, you just take bathrooms.”

  The girl opened her mouth and huffed loudly. “I don’t do toilets.”

  Jamie rolled her eyes. Then, a moment later, she gave May a sly smile. “Funny how you had no problem doing Jake in them last night.”

  The cooks in the back laughed at her burn. Jamie took more than a small amount of satisfaction as May stomped off.

  Feeling slightly better, she turned to where Aaron sat at the front of the pub. Her stomach lurched as the perv leered at her from across the room.

  “You can do this,” she whispered, and walked over to the table, smile firmly in place. She stopped alongside the table. “What can I get you tonight, Aaron?”

  He insisted she call him by his name. The creep seemed to get off on it.

  “What would you suggest?”

  He leaned in, almost suggestively, his eyes pinned to her chest.

  Jamie bit the inside of her cheek. Trying to refrain from opening her big mouth like she normally would got harder and harder with each day.

  Most men looked. Hell, she wore the low shirt so they would.

  But most men also had the decency to look away when they’d been caught. Not Aaron. He only held her eye like he was suggesting something she wanted no part of.

  “The special is the pot roast, and it’s fantastic,” she said.

  He stared at her chest for a little longer before meeting her eyes. “Whatever you think is best.”

  Jamie pressed her lips together as she wrote on her pad. “Pot roast it is,” she said, and turned around.

  She knew he was still staring at her, but his gaze had moved to her ass. He always did when he was in the pub. Every. Damn. Day.

  Jamie tore off the ticket and slapped it in the window. She glanced over out of the corner of her eye and found his eyes still on her and shivered.

  “I hope I never get old,” May said as she placed a ticket on the counter next to hers. “Especially if that’s what I have to look forward to.”

  Jamie ground down on her teeth. Old?

  She snorted loudly. “You couldn’t even pass your film class,” Jamie spat out. “Welcome to your fate.”

  May frowned as the guys in the back whistled. “I don’t understand.”

  Jamie laughed in her face this time. She was over being nice today. Two more hours, and she was out for two days.

  “That seems to be a constant state for you,” she said.

  Jamie walked away, fist bumping herself mentally. So maybe she was being childish, but there was only so much crap a person could take before they snapped, and she figured this was better than giving the shit a swirly.

  Chapter Four

  Lucan made it to the post office just in time. He barreled through the door. The employees behind the counter stared at him.

  He took a deep breath and gave them a polite nod. He imagined that a huge man in sun glasses rushing into the building at the last moment left more than a few of them wondering about robbery.

  He ignored the panicked looks on their faces and made his way over to the other side of the room, which contained all the private boxes.

  Lucan scanned the numbers, looking for his target. After a few moments, he found it on the bottom row. It was large, among the largest in the post office.

  The hybrid scratched an eyebrow as he thought about it. The size suggested that whatever was delivered or expected wasn’t something easily storable, such as a memory stick or a few pieces of paper containing data.

  Several deep breaths followed. This post office box was a strong lead. There could be some critical piece of evidence that would let them take the fight to the Group again, instead of constantly being forced to play defense.

  Lucan slipped the key into the lock. The key turned with ease, and he pulled the door open.

  He let out a grunt of disapproval. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting. Maybe some sort of vial or thick official-looking notebook.

  None of that lay in the box. There was nothing there but a damned flyer for a tire store, hardly the vital information needed to win the war against the Horatius Group.

  Lucan pulled the flyer from the box. He glanced at who it was addressed to.

  A.J. Kinkaid.

  Lucan’s eyes narrowed. He stared at the paper. The name was familiar.

  Where had he heard that name before? Kinkaid. Something in the back of his mind just wouldn’t let the name go.

  “Sir?”

  Lucan turned and stared through his sunglasses at the tiny older woman standing before him. She wrung her hands as she stared up at him. He could smell the fear coming off her in waves.

  “We’re, um, closing now,” she said.

  He gave a small smile and closed the box.

  “Right,” he said as quietly as he could, so as not to startle her. “I’ll just be on my way.”

  She followed him to the door and closed it quickly behind him. The loud thunk the lock made as it clicked in place only reinforced why the hybrids needed their own home.

  Though he’d hidden his eyes, his sheer size and manner frightened the people inside. Hybrids weren’t like these people, and humans would always be afraid of them no matter what they did.

  That didn’t mean war was inevitable, but they couldn’t ignore the truth either.

  Perhaps it didn’t matter. Until the Horatius Group was destroyed, there would be no chance of true peace.

  Lucan climbed onto his bike and wondered if he might hear police sirens soon. It wouldn’t really surprise him. The last thing he wanted to deal with was a worried cop who might mistake him for some sort of criminal biker.

  The distant, soft scent of lavender floated through the air. He took a deep breath, only barely suppressing the rumble that wanted to erupt. He recognized the scent before he’d even turned to see her.

  Jamie had been something of a thorn in his side since he’d pulled her from the burning building the night of the attack. It’d been a hell of a time to find out she was his Vestal, his fated mate.

  When she and her friend moved away, Lucan counted himself as lucky. The enemy was closing in, and they needed to concentrate on defense. He didn’t have time for all this bonded Vestal bullshit, especially not now that their people had been split.

  At least that’s what he told himself.

  His inner beast disagreed. It wanted what was his. Wanted to sink between her legs and claim her.

  Lucan hadn’t even looked at her, and he already was half hard with need for the woman.

  Unable to keep his eyes away, he turned and spotted her walking down a dark road. She was too far for her to notice him.

  He could take this chance to just slip away and pretend he hadn’t seen her. It’d make things easier for her, easier for him, hell, easier for everyone.

  Lucan watched her for a moment before another gust of wind passed by. This time the carried scent was soured with fear.

  He frowned as he watched her more closely. Her head darted back and forth like she was being followed. She turned the corner, now out of his sight.

  The hybrid shook his head. “It’s not your problem,” he grumbled.

  Lucan pressed his foot against the clutch of the bike. He was just seconds away from roaring himself far the fuck away from the sexy woman.

  No. It was his damn problem. Even if she weren’t his Vestal, he’d need to help if she were in trouble.

  “Fuck,” he grunted, and pulled the key.

  His inner beast roared in response, ready to protect the woman at all cost.

  * * *

  “Shit,” Jamie mumbled.

  She hated walking home a
fter work. It was just at that time of day when the shops were all closed, and the creeps started to head out to the local bars, cat calling her as she walked home in her very booberific shirt. She’d long since grown to expect it.

  At least guys like that she could handle. It was the ones who didn’t call out who worried her. The kind of guys who followed her for a few blocks before she slipped inside her building and closed the door behind her.

  Not that Jamie was an idiot. She carried pepper spray in her hand at all times and a Taser in her purse.

  Right now, she had both weapons in her hands.

  Someone was following her. Had been for some time.

  Several times she turned and tried to catch them, but each time they had evaded her, moving just out of sight before she could see them. The idea they knew to evade her only freaked her out more.

  It wasn’t like it was a ghost. She could see them out of the corner of her eye.

  Drunken morons she could handle. A guy on the top of his game, not so much. A guy who knew to hide was probably also a sober man.

  Jamie’s heart hammered as footsteps behind her grew closer. She flicked the cap of the spray and readied her finger on the trigger. Her other hand gripped the Taser.

  When a firm hand gripped her elbow, she couldn’t even work up the scream she’d been taught to do in self-defense class. In fact, everything she’d learned just flew out the window. All she knew was that she needed to get away at all costs.

  The hand with the pepper spray shot out, squirting the burning liquid into the air and creating a cloud of pain that quickly turned on her as well.

  “Oh, fucking shit!” Jamie yelled.

  She turned and coughed hard as the fiery spray filled her lungs and nose. Her eyes watered hard as she blinked to get out the spray.

  The man tried to turn her around, his hand still attached to her arm. It wasn’t fair. She was suffering, and he was still trying to go after her.

  “Take that!” she screamed as she swung wildly with the taser. The crackle of electricity ripped through the air.

  A firm hand gripped her wrist before she could land the blow.