I’d have kept thinking he was a gargoyle if it wasn’t for Laila. She got him to do more than just stand there. Granted, he still wasn’t a ray of sunshine, but at least he was talking. Well, more like bitching. Grinning, I took the stairs down the final flight and came to the bottom floor.
Dr. Laila Porter’s office was at the end of a very long hallway. That meant she was gifted. Super smart. I knew that much about her. The lower the floor level, the higher their ranking. This floor was nearly an exact replica of the other floors, but with fewer doors. Three to be exact. The buzzing lights mocked me as I walked to the other end, keeping an eye on my target.
I tried to imagine what the doctor looked like, but I was biased and could only imagine a geeky girl with frizzy hair and big dorky glasses. Snorting, I knew that wasn’t who she was. Otherwise, half the guys wouldn’t have been drooling every time they talked about her.
Music reached my ears, and as I approached the last door, I realized it was cracked open. The hair on my skin stood straight up, and I had to force myself to not rub at my arms to get rid of the goosebumps. With some of the shifter blood in my family, I was a little more sensitive than the average human. Right now, those senses told my body that I approached something very powerful and potentially very dangerous.
Hello, Laila Porter.
Before I could reach the door, the music shut off and it slid completely open. I halted my approach as a woman who came to just above my shoulders stepped out. She stopped before she could bump into me and my nose picked up the scent of cinnamon.
She blinked a couple of times before looking up at me with big green eyes. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail and... was that a gas mask hanging around her neck?
“Is there a fire?” I asked, flashing her my biggest smile.
“Maybe. There’s always a possibility I might start one,” she said. Damn. She had one of those low, soothing voices, reminding me of my ma’s voice. I briefly wondered what she’d sound like when she sang. Would it be as good?
“May I join?” I asked.
“Join me?”
I nodded and looked at the small leather pouch in her hands. She looked down too and held it up.
“Are you sure you want to ask me that?”
I grinned. “Are you going to cause trouble?”
“Always.”
“Then yes. I’d love having the pleasure of joining you.”
She looked like she was considering my request.
“Do you need someone to test it out on?” Whatever it was. My curiosity grew and it took everything I had to not ask her. “I’m always willing.”
I waggled my eyebrows, and she rolled her eyes as her playfulness came out.
“I’d love to use you as a guinea pig. Unfortunately,” her eyes ran down my body, and I smirked at the appreciation on her face, “you’re a human. It won’t work.”
“Oh? Then what do you need?”
“Someone with energy.”
Chuckling, I stepped closer to her as the darker side of me came out to play. “I know just the person. My partner happens to be a shifter. Will that work for you?”
When her eyes lit right up, I found myself temporarily unable to breathe. That never happened to me. Still holding my breath, I impatiently waited for her answer, doing my best to keep from shifting around. I wanted more time with her. It had been a while since I’d had this much fun talking with someone.
“Yes. Would he mind?”
Forcing myself to keep from doing a fist pump, I instead shook my head. “Naw. He’s my partner. He’s used to shit like this.”
She laughed and man if it wasn’t the prettiest sound ever.
“All right, where is he?” she asked. “Oh, manners.” She held out her hand. “I’m Dr. Laila Porter. I just started working here.”
“I know,” I said, shaking her hand. “I’m Davies Kalman. I’m one of the security experts here.”
“So a meathead,” she said.
I raised an eyebrow, wondering if I should be offended or not. She didn’t seem to hate the idea, and she didn’t say it with malice. I brushed it off. Lab technicians were always a weird bunch with their own language.
“Let me check to see where Venni is.” I sent off a quick text and then looked back up at her. She was eyeing me. The general female population had a consensus that I was a good male specimen. Hours of chasing after people and keeping myself alive had kept my body in perfect health. I was larger than some supernaturals and since being partnered with Venni, a lot of people forgot I was even human. Hours and days of training kept me ready and able to hold my own.
And women dug my looks. They called me wild with my shaggy blond hair that curled around my face, and I lived up to those expectations too. If something was dangerous, I was always the first in line.
My phone buzzed, and I glanced at the screen. “He’s out in the garden, come on. Have you been there yet?”
She nodded. “Briefly, though Atreyu was determined to give me the fastest tour on earth, so we didn’t stay long.” A note of annoyance slipped into her voice at the end.
Chuckling, I said, “I’m surprised he even gave you a tour. He’s the type who likes his schedule and hates it when he can’t stick to it. He’s all about protocols. He only listens to a handful of people.”
“Noted,” she mumbled as we got on the elevator. The ride was quiet and once we got off onto the main floor, I led her to a back exit out into the garden. Venni sat on a bench, his legs stretched out as we approached him. His eyes were closed as he soaked up the late spring heat. A few people were out here, trying to enjoy the heat before it became too hot.
“Venni,” I called out. His eyes cracked open and he glared at me. I just grinned and tilted my head toward Laila. His eyes moved to her, and he stiffened before sitting up straight.
“Doctor,” he said, voice formal. He always came off as a military man with his dark hair cut short and face clean shaven. We were complete opposites in our appearance. I always wondered if Lombardi had a screw or two loose in his head, thinking it was a good idea to pair us together.
Where my hair was blond, Venni’s was nearly black. I liked the wild look with longer hair, Venni fought to keep his hair short, and I’d never seen him with facial hair. I was light skinned; he was tanned. I was loud and sometimes rude. He was quiet and polite. The only similarity we had was that we were both well over six feet tall.
I snorted. If anyone were to break his demeanor, it was going to be Laila. I just knew it.
“Can I help with something?” he asked, sending a flicker of annoyance my way.
She gave him an innocent smile, and I had to clear my throat before I broke out laughing. Venni glared at me before focusing back on Laila.
Laila glanced at me and then at my partner. She considered something before nodding to herself. “Davies said you’re a shifter. Do you mind if I try something out on you?”
Venni’s eyebrows furrowed. “What do you need?”
Laila lifted her little pouch. “I created these little cubes. The idea is that they work together to detain a baddie. It’s fueled by the energy of the person captured. If someone tries to escape, they have to fight against themselves, and it’ll eventually tire them out.”
Both my eyebrows rose as I thought about what that would mean for the company. Holy fuck, that would be amazing. It would make capturing others easier. Shifters were the worst when we needed to detain them. They were fast and strong. There were some cases when the reports weren’t accurate and we’d gone in with the wrong gear. One time they claimed two perpetrators were fae. We went in with iron. One of them ended up being a shifter and broke through the cuffs.
The person who gave the report was torn a new one by Lombardi. It was a rip down I never wanted to see again. I was angry, but damn, I still felt bad for the guy after Lombardi was done with him.
“Please?” Laila asked. She held up the little black cubes in her hand. They were the size of dice and eight of them
rested on her palms. They looked so harmless.
Venni glared down at the cubes, and I held back a chuckle when his shoulders slumped and he caved.
“Thank you!” Laila’s excitement became bubbly as she lifted her gas mask around her mouth.
“What’s with the mask?” I asked.
“Habit,” she said, her voice muffled through the mask. “I promise nothing will go wrong.”
“Okay.” I eyed her warily now. If she needed a gas mask, I didn’t want to think about what she expected to happen. Venni now looked just as wary as I was.
“I’m just going to throw these at you. It shouldn’t be painful.”
“Shouldn’t?” Venni asked.
She ignored him and tossed the cubes at Venni. Once they got within a foot of him. They stilled. Vibration filtered through the air for a second before they circled Venni and the air shimmered.
Venni winced as he was lifted off the ground and floated about four feet above it. The others around us gasped and whispered as they gathered closer to watch the show. Venni twisted around, bobbing with each movement.
Four of the devices created a square around Venni’s head, the other four around his feet, making him look like he was floating in a huge cube. It was like he was in one of those zero gravity rooms.
“Whoa,” I said and approached cautiously.
I glanced at Laila, who was looking over her creation carefully.
Venni strained against the device, his muscles bulging, eyes big. A vein popped up along his neck and forehead. He was fighting against it.
“What do you feel?” Laila asked.
“Let me out,” Venni said.
“In a moment,” Laila said, now cold and calculating as she wrote stuff down in a notepad. I wasn’t even sure where she’d gotten it from. Was there some kind of magic trick I needed in on? “How do you feel?”
“Bees buzzing against my skin,” he finally answered through his teeth.
“That’s pretty poetic,” I teased, and he responded with a growl, his wolf right at the surface.
“You’re fighting against yourself,” Laila reminded him. “If you continue to do so, you’ll only tire yourself out. Relax. I promise it’ll be better if you just relax.”
I wasn’t so sure Venni knew how to do that but then a few seconds later, he did. Even he seemed surprised and blinked a few times. “It is better,” he said.
“I know,” Laila answered as she wrote something else down. “Okay, I got what I needed, thank you. This means a lot to me.”
She went over to a cube and reached up to touch it. There was a zapping noise, and she flinched back, looking at her fingertips.
“Oh goddess,” she said and rubbed her fingers together.
“Are you okay?” I asked, stepping to her side and grabbing her hand. The tips of her fingers were red and slightly swollen.
“What happened?” Venni asked.
“Um, looks like getting you in there is a lot easier than getting you out.”
“What does that mean?” Venni asked, his voice deepening.
“It means you’re stuck,” I clarified as Laila withdrew her hand. I hadn’t planned on letting her go anytime soon, so it was good that she made the decision.
“Get. Me. Out.”
“I will.” Laila waved her hand as if it wasn’t a concern. “You’re not stuck.”
“Laila, just so you’re aware, shifters do not do well in cages,” I warned her. Especially Venni. Even I was starting to feel slightly concerned for him. The idea of being caged sent plenty of shifters into a frenzy.
Laila’s voice grew serious as she said, “Venni, I need you to stay completely relaxed. I’ll have you out in a moment. Just take deep breaths.”
Venni did as she said as he glared hard at us. The whispering around us grew louder and that seemed to only tick off Venni more. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but whatever it was pissed him off.
She approached again and stared at one of the cubes. Again, my hair stood on end as she reached out. I pressed my lips together, feeling the urge to yank her back this time. What if this time she got more than a little shock?
I moved around to get a better look at her expression and gasped. Her eyes glowed. They were originally a pretty dark green, like forest green in the evening light, but now they were lighter, glowing. They pulled me in and I had the sensation of falling.
She blinked and stepped back, her lips moving softly and then a breeze brushed by. The cubes dropped down and Venni barely landed on his feet when he fell. He crouched down, taking in breaths.
“I’m sorry that happened,” Laila said, and she actually sounded sincere. She held her hand out and the cubes lifted off the ground, hovered there for a moment, before flying into her hand. “This was the first time that happened so I’ll need to take another look.” She turned on her heels and gave us another glance before walking away.
“Holy fuck,” I said, staring after her “Who the hell is she?”
Venni rose slowly from the ground, taking in deep breaths. He shook his head as he gathered himself, fighting against his instinct to shift and snap out at everyone.
“Are you okay?” I asked, genuinely concerned for him.
“I’m fine.”
People around us slowly dispersed now that the show was over.
“Are you sure?”
He brushed by me. “I’m going to go for a run. I’ll see you this evening for our assignment.” With that he stalked away and I was tempted to follow after him just to make sure he really was okay. I checked my phone, noting that I had nothing else planned. Looked like I owed Venni a nice raw steak. Otherwise, he was going to be difficult to work with.
Sighing, I headed back inside and had to fight back my curiosity about Laila. I needed to leave her alone for now. Didn’t want to overwhelm her with my awesomeness.
Chapter Eight
~Davies Kalman Part II~
I walked into Biomystic with Venni at my side, my skin pebbling as the air conditioner hit my overheated skin. When the pretty receptionist spotted me, I sent her a playful wink, and she returned it with a shy smile. The security guard next to her glowered at me and snapped something at her. I chuckled when she nodded, giving the man an eye roll.
My shoulders were stiff from sitting and watching for the night. Rolling my shoulders only provided temporary relief. Wanting a distraction, I asked Venni, “Are you going to go to the fight tonight?”
He sighed and shook his head. “You know I don’t like those events.”
“Alijah is going to be fighting.”
“And I pity his opponent already.”
“Aw, come on, Venni. Let’s have some fun tonight. That last mission was a pain. We need to let loose.” I wrapped my arm around his shoulder and pulled him close. “Please. Come on. Let’s go.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t enjoy watching people get their nose broken or teeth knocked out. I can live without blood splatters.”
“Oh, I see what’s going on,” I said with a big grin, giving him a knowing look.
He stepped away from me so my arm fell to my side, then he went on to send me a glare. “Doubt it.”
“You enjoy it,” I said, voice teasing. “You can’t help but love the excitement, all that adrenaline pumping, the crowd mentality getting you wound up.”
“I’m not you,” he snapped out, and I smirked because I was so right.
He didn’t want to go because he demanded that his wolf stayed hidden deep within. Could someone be a closet shifter? Venni definitely felt like a closet shifter. He did his best to have complete control over his person. If he dared to lose his temper or shift unintentionally, then he’d beat himself up over it for weeks and nearly kill himself in the gym. As if picking up the equivalent of a small car repeatedly was enough to make his wolf fall into line.
I wasn’t a shifter, but I knew that wasn’t how it worked. Venni was over seventy years old, three
times my age, and yet he still fought with his wolf. He still didn’t live in harmony with his beast. Life shouldn’t be like that. It shouldn’t be a constant battle against yourself. I wish I knew how to help him. I didn’t. The last time I brought it up, he snapped at me and rubbed in my face the fact that I’d never understand because I was just a lowly human. Okay, he wasn’t that mean about it, but I knew how to read between the lines.
“Isn’t that the doctor?” Venni asked, his head tilted to the side. I followed his gaze until I spotted the beautiful woman. She was walking away from us, head down as she stared at a clipboard.
“Oh, perfect timing.” I left Venni standing there as I went after Laila. My legs had no trouble catching up with her, especially since she was walking slowly. I was just about to call out to her and make some stupid joke about how keeping her head down put her at risk to walk into something when that asshole came out of a conference room and called out to her.
“Miss Porter,” he said, and my eyes narrowed at the back of his head, imagining what it’d feel like to grab onto his mop of light brown hair and yank hard, giving him a bald spot.
Asshole Abram. He needed to find a ditch and lie in it. Let the sewer gators eat him.
Laila didn’t look up when she absently responded, “Dr. Porter.”
Abram’s cocky grin slipped away, and I smirked.
“Dr. Porter,” he said again.
She finally looked up from what she was doing, looking slightly irritated. I hadn’t seen her since the incident with Venni last week, and the distance did nothing to quell the way she made me breathless.
“Yes?”
“I just wanted to introduce myself. It’s a pleasure meeting you.” Abram held his hand out, and she just stared down at it, blinking in confusion.
“Is that so? Well, nice meeting you.” She ignored him and continued walking, staring at her clipboard.
Abram chased after her and cut in front. I stepped forward to shove him away from her, hating the slutty look in his expression. In Abram’s mind, he had her pressed against the wall with him between her legs, making her scream his name. I knew this because while I loathed to admit it, we thought the same way. The only difference was that I’d never act on it, and only Laila put that image in my head. For Abram, anything with tits did it for him. He was a Class A asshole.
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