by Faith Gibson
Julian found it to be less than enjoyable seeking out a woman for a few hours of pleasure only to abandon them in the middle of the night. Human men were fine with one-night stands, but Julian had learned over the years that females were more often than not hoping to find someone for a relationship, no matter if that relationship began with a single night of passion. He had no desire to get a woman’s hopes up only to douse the flame by never calling again. He was thankful he’d finally been given a mate. Julian looked forward to not only cooking for her, but sharing the intimacy and sex that came with having someone in his life full time. Now if he could get her home, Julian was ready to start the next part of his journey in his long life with Katherine.
Tessa sat for over an hour before Agent Rayaz exited FSM. She hadn’t parked in the facility parking lot. Instead, Tessa had hidden the rental SUV out of sight near the end of the long drive which led to the prison. Tessa eased onto the road only when the agent’s vehicle was almost out of sight. She kept a good distance behind to ensure she wasn’t detected. Luckily, Agent Rayaz didn’t go straight home. She pulled into the parking lot of a restaurant, and Tessa did the same, turning the opposite way so she could park on the opposite side of the building but still keep an eye on the woman. After Agent Rayaz had a five-minute head start, Tessa got out of the SUV and went inside.
Tessa paused inside the door, looking around. Spotting the agent at the bar, Tessa waved off the hostess, made her way to the U-shaped area, and had a seat at the opposite end to the agent. With Tessa’s shifter hearing, she could listen in on any conversation the woman had. The bartender approached the woman who ordered a glass of wine. Figures. Tessa ordered a beer and asked for a menu since the agent had as well. Tessa didn’t have to worry about watching what she ate or counting calories. With her shifter metabolism, her figure was never an issue.
The bartender, Seth, called the agent by name and tried to chat her up, but it was obvious something was bothering Rayaz. She barely touched her wine, and her focus was on the wood of the bar underneath her hands and not on the many televisions surrounding the room or the people sitting on either side of her. Being happy hour, the place was filling up quickly. “Everything okay, Sonja? You look a little lost in thought today,” the bartender tried again. He was cute with his brown hair curling over his collar. Probably in his mid-twenties, Seth leaned a hip against the refrigerator cabinet where the beer was kept and crossed his arms over his chest. He wasn’t too worried about the other customers, and his focus was solely on Sonja.
“You know I can’t talk about it,” she said to the younger man.
“No, but I can still worry when I don’t see that gorgeous smile.”
Sonja glanced up and rolled her eyes. “Don’t you have beer to pour?” she asked.
Pushing away from the cabinet, he leaned over in front of her, not caring about the men on either side of the agent who were both listening intently. “I do, but I can also worry about my big sister at the same time.”
Well, that was interesting. Julian hadn’t mentioned Rayaz having family in the area. If Tessa could get close to Seth, it might make her job easier. Yeah, and Stone will kill the kid if he touches you. Right. Maybe that wasn’t such a good idea. Tessa locked that bit of information away as a last resort. She needed to get close enough to the woman to record her voice, but Sonja wasn’t in a talkative mood. Tessa was going to have to get her to talk somehow. After ordering an appetizer, Tessa nursed her beer while the siblings interacted. Seth didn’t leave Sonja alone, but he didn’t push her to tell him what was wrong, either. Seeing them together made Tessa think of her own brother. It had been almost a year since she’d talked to Tamian. The longer she went without hearing from him, the more her heart hurt.
The two of them had been closer than twins, but when she mated with Gregor, Tamian disappeared. The bond between them had been as strong as what she had with Gregor. Maybe stronger. It was definitely more intense. With Tamian being her clone, it was almost as if they shared a brain. She always knew what he was thinking, because Tamian kept his mind open to her. When she almost died at the hands of Gordon Flanagan, the man who believed he was her father, Tessa had given up her fight to keep Gregor at arm’s length. When that happened, Tamian felt as though she didn’t need her brother any longer and left. If he only knew how badly it hurt her, he might have stayed.
Gregor was everything to Tessa as far as a mate went, but Tamian had been her other half for so long she felt like part of her was missing. She still felt that way. She had enough room in her life for both males, but Tamian didn’t see it that way. Tessa wanted a chance to talk to him and explain, but she couldn’t do that if she couldn’t find him.
Rayaz had a couple more glasses of wine and picked at her meal. She eventually asked her brother for a to-go box, and Tessa asked for her tab. She timed everything so she and the agent were walking out the door at the same time. When they were outside, Tessa stopped the agent. “Excuse me,” she said, getting Rayaz’s attention. When the agent turned around, Tessa continued, “I couldn’t help but overhear that cute bartender say he was your brother. Is that correct?”
If Sonja thought the conversation odd, she didn’t let on. “Yes, he is.” When she didn’t offer anything else, Tessa pressed on.
“I’m new in town, and I just… He’s so adorable. Does he have a girlfriend?”
That got a smile out of the agent. “He is adorable, and a pain in my ass. But he’s family. And no, he doesn’t have a girlfriend. But save yourself the trouble. That one doesn’t date. He hooks up with women and doesn’t do more than one-offs. Says he’s much too young to settle with one woman when he can play the field.”
“Oh, well thanks for the warning. Have a good evening.” Tessa turned and walked toward her car. She probably shouldn’t have approached the agent, because now Sonja knew what Tessa looked and sounded like. That didn’t matter, though. Tessa had what she needed with the voice recorder in her bag catching every word the agent had spoken. It was enough that Tessa could create the voice transmitter. Now, she needed to spend time watching in the wings to get her mannerisms down. While Gregor and Julian installed cameras in Agent Everhart’s home, Tessa was going to do the same in Sonja’s. This plan to get Katherine needed to be flawless.
Tessa didn’t follow the agent to her home. She needed to put some space between them so the agent had time to forget about Tessa. She called Julian to let him know she was on her way. She didn’t call Gregor, because she didn’t know his situation, and Julian had yet to hear from him. As Tessa drove, she went over what they knew so far. She wasn’t used to having someone help with her adventures in impersonating people.
When she was a Watcher for the half-bloods, she would go in alone. Sometimes situations got a little tricky, but never once had Tessa failed to get close to her cousins. Now that they were all aware of who and what they were, her assistance wasn’t needed. Her cousin, Zeke, had visited the last of Jonas’s offspring and filled him in on the family. The last time Tessa spoke to Zeke, Cyrus had taken the news about as well as the others. He had yet to transition, so he knew what signs to watch for and to pay attention to the people he was around.
Tessa wasn’t nervous about her part in getting Katherine out of the prison. Neither was she worried about Gregor being the one to guide them through from the outside while watching the computers. Stone was a smart male, and he knew how the inside of prisons worked being the warden of the New Atlanta Penitentiary. Tessa was nervous that Julian wouldn’t be able to keep his shifter under control if he found his mate to be in less than perfect health. She was going to do her best to convince Julian to let her be the one to get Katherine out and him be her back-up. It was the best case scenario for all involved. Tessa wouldn’t be as personally vested. Another thing she wanted to speak to Julian about was going in early as someone different to take a look around. It would give them a better feel of the layout, and if she was lucky, she would find where they were keeping Katherine. Tess
a had to figure out who the other females were before that could happen.
When she was driving down the road which led to the ranch, her cell phone rang. She smiled when Gregor’s name popped up on the caller ID. Just knowing he was on the other end made her insides tingle. “Talk to me, Stone.”
“Hey, Red. Just wanted to let you know I’m on my way back.”
“I’m almost to the ranch now. How’d it go?”
“Good. I’ll fill you and Julian in when I get there.”
“How far out are you?”
“About fifteen minutes. See you soon.”
“Yes, you will.” Tessa disconnected. She was still smiling when she parked the car in front of the house.
Chapter Five
Julian dished out three plates of Fettuccini Alfredo while Tessa got them all something to drink. “I’ve been thinking,” Tessa said as she placed a couple of beers on the table for her and Gregor while setting a glass of wine at Julian’s seat. “I know you want to get in and out as soon as possible, but I think we should do a little more legwork before we do. I think I should go in as a female guard and scope things out before we impersonate the agents.”
“That isn’t a bad idea,” Julian agreed. “I do want to get Kat out sooner rather than later, but we have no idea where to begin looking once we’re on the inside. I don’t want to bumble our way through. I might not be a fan of the Feds and how they’re handling the situation with Kat, but they aren’t idiots. I’m going to try reaching out to her tonight through meditation. If that doesn’t work, we will do it your way. I have already been monitoring a couple of the women who work in the facility. After we eat, I’ll pull up the information I have on them both. One is about Gregor’s size, so I don’t think she is an option. The other one you will be more likely to pull off. You would need to wear some type of padding since you are not as large as she is, but like I said, it is doable.”
“I’d like to go over the system they have in place, since I’m the one who’s going to be stuck out here manning the controls,” Gregor said.
“It’s pretty straight-forward, but once Tessa and I are on the inside, you’re going to have to pay attention to all the monitors. I cannot lockdown their system so only you have access. There are too many doorways where people come and go. I’m going to piggyback onto the controls so you can override any door to keep someone from following us.”
“I can do that. I would rather someone with more computer experience be doing this, but I’m not going to let you two down.”
“We know you aren’t, Stone.” Tessa placed her hand on Gregor’s arm, and the two of them shared something silently. Julian was ready for that type of connection with Katherine.
With supper eaten and the table cleared, the three of them got busy. Julian showed Gregor the controls he’d be working with while Tessa read up on one of the female guards. Tessa didn’t immediately send the woman’s picture to Jonas for a prosthetic. She was giving Julian that night to try and reach Katherine through meditation. If he wasn’t successful, then she’d call her uncle. Gregor was confident he would be able to control the doors while they were on the inside. The system wasn’t so far different than the one Julian installed at the Pen.
Gregor continued to monitor the computer, switching screens every few minutes to watch what was happening inside FSM. Julian had considered purchasing several more screens so they could view various areas of the prison at the same time, but for now, they had to switch back and forth. When it was lights out, Julian excused himself and went outside. Even though it was ten p.m., the heat index was still in the nineties. He would have preferred to remain indoors with the air conditioning, but the stillness on the outside of the house made it easier to concentrate.
Julian reached out with his senses to make sure there was no one around. Just because they were renting the ranch that had been abandoned years before didn’t mean nobody trespassed. When he found he was alone, he strode into the barn and pulled off his shirt, tossing it across one of the stall gates. Moving to the middle of the barn, Julian phased, allowing his shifter to come out long enough to launch himself to the loft. He retracted his wings and settled on the floor, relaxing. As Frey had taught him to do, Julian closed off his senses to everything around him, focusing solely on Katherine.
Slowing his breathing, Julian withdrew into himself until he was floating. He allowed his mind to travel to where he imagined Kat to be within the prison. Envisioning her resting on a single cot within a private cell, Julian called out to her gently. Katherine? Can you hear me? He waited, giving her time to focus. Katherine? Can you hear me? He tried again. She didn’t answer, but there was something there. Something just out of reach nudging against his consciousness. Katherine, can you hear me?
Julian?
Yes, Sweetheart. It’s me.
How is this possible?
I will explain later, I promise. Are you hurt?
Not really.
Julian had to fight his shifter to remain quiet so he wouldn’t lose his focus.
Kat, I am coming for you soon. Can you tell me where you are?
I’m at FSM.
I mean within the building. Where are you within the building?
I’m in the basement in a glassed-in room.
You mean the first floor?
No, the basement. There’s no one else down here except me as far as I can tell.
Fuck! There was no indication of FSM having a basement. This was going to be harder than he thought. But he’d manage. Somehow, he would get in there and get Kat out.
Julian?
I’m here, Sweetheart. I am staying in a farmhouse not too far from the prison. I have a plan to get you out. It will take me a few days, but please, hang in there. I am coming to get you and taking you home.
I… why?
I promise I will explain everything when we get you out. I need you to trust me, Kat.
I do. For whatever reason, I do. How are you able to get into my head? How do I know this is real and not some by-product of what they did to me?
The last time I saw you before you were arrested, you were in the coffee shop talking to Dane Abbott. I followed you outside. You were wearing a tight grey skirt and pink blouse, and that day your hair was blowing all around you from the wind. The clasp had fallen out, and you were searching for it when I approached you.
I… this is crazy.
It is, but once I have you out of there, it will make sense. Please be honest with me. Are you hurt?
My eardrum is busted. Other than that, I’m recovering. The female agent in charge wasn’t aware of the torture. Well, not the physical stuff. She’s pretty good at mind manipulation.
Julian lost his connection when the beast burst through. Phasing completely while lying on his back was painful. His wings demanded to be stretched out, and Julian had no choice but to roll over. When he did, he fell from the loft. Instead of his wings engaging and keeping him from hitting the floor below, he landed hard on his stomach, knocking the breath out of him. “Godsdamn, you could have stopped the fall, you bastard,” he chastised the beast within when he could speak.
The only response he received was a roar that threatened to split his head open. “Fuck! Stop it. We are going to get her! I need to be able to reach her for that to happen.” Julian pushed himself to his feet, retracted his claws and wings, and dusted the dirt off his pants. Fucker. Instead of returning to the loft, Julian opted to remain safely on the ground.
Katherine?
Julian waited and tried several more times, but their connection was severed for the time being. He pulled on his shirt and returned to the house where he shared the latest development with Gregor and Tessa. Pulling a bottle of Scotch out of the cabinet, he poured himself a double while he spoke. “I was able to contact Kat, but what she told me might set us back a few days. She’s being held in the basement.”
“There isn’t a basement on the plans,” Gregor said, stating what they all knew already.
&n
bsp; “No, there isn’t. I have a feeling there is a good reason for that. Kat stated she is the only one down there as far as she can tell. Either they are keeping her away from the males, or they use the basement as their torture area. She admitted to being subjected to both mental and physical torture. Her eardrum was busted.”
“Holy shit! Did your beast not come unglued?” Tessa asked. She knew from experience with Gregor what could happen when the shifter wasn’t happy. She loved to recount the story of how she dove off the roof of the Pen and Gregor phased, going after her. This was before Gregor realized she was a half-blood or that she was wearing a wind suit which allowed her to land safely on the ground. His beast neither knew nor cared. It only recognized its mate was in trouble and took over before Gregor could even think twice about it. He wasn’t the only one, either. Most of the Goyles who’d recently encountered their mates had phased for one reason or another without being able to control their beast.
“To say the least. I was lying on my back when my wings came out. I rolled over to make room for them and fell from the loft, thus breaking my connection with Kat,” Julian admitted. If Gargoyles could blush, he’d be as red as Tessa’s hair.
“Holy shit!” Tessa repeated. She glanced down at his clothes. Even knowing he was a Gargoyle and couldn’t be harmed, it was an automatic reaction to gauge someone’s injuries. He had done it on occasion with Nikolas and Frey when they were younger.