Worst of all, Victor was right about him. He had been oblivious to anything besides his own suffering. All this time his brother had been alone in his grief, torn up by his mate’s death, and in danger. And Dimitri had barely given him a thought—or a civil one, at least. He turned up the collar of his coat and turned onto Mason. Maybe he would stay in the city for the night. He could sure use some time alone with a bottle of Imperia. Or ten.
Suddenly, he heard a loud squeal behind him. He turned around and the glare of headlights assaulted his shifter senses. And then everything went black.
Ana walked up Washington Street. There was next to no one there. Who else but those fighting the freaking war would be out in ten degree weather at two in the morning? Her shifter senses picked up on the sound of footsteps up ahead. Wait a minute. That was a fuckload of k’ul. It didn’t belong to Dimitri, but felt somehow similar.
“Viktor!”
She tore after the male as he turned down Boylston. She grabbed his shoulder, but when he turned around, it was just a human doppelganger. “Sorry. I thought you were someone else.”
She watched as the stranger went on his way. Okaay. If that wasn’t where all the energy was coming from then… The condo! She gleamed onto the patio of Dimitri’s place. The blinds were closed, but a light was on. She opened the patio door to the dining room and went in. Out of nowhere an arm came around from behind her, putting her in a choke hold.
“Viktor! It’s me, Ana, you dumbass.”
Viktor released her and she folded her arms. “Jesus, you barbarian. Totally lackluster move by the way. So have you been here all this time?”
“No. I just got here tonight. I don’t suppose I could convince you not to tell Dimitri.”
“Not without killing me.” Speaking of, where was Dimitri? She took out her cell and hit speed dial. Hmm. No answer. That was odd.
“What’s wrong?”
“He’s not answering his cell. It’s probably nothing, but I should head out.”
“Hang on. I’ll come with you. Just let me get my coat.”
They took the elevator down to the lobby, neither of them saying much. They made their way outside and started to head back toward the park.
Viktor stopped. “I’ve got him!”
He grabbed onto Ana’s sleeve and they dematerialized.
Ah, the wonders of forced labor. Once Victrixa had taken away all Roman’s creature comforts, she had the results she needed in only a couple of short days. Not only did he have the defect in the serum isolated, he had also tested it on two lots of shifters. Not a single rogue in the bunch. Now that the results were consistent, she could move forward with her plan. But first she owed a visit to her head scientist.
She unlocked the door and walked into the lab. “I just heard the news.”
“It’s perfect, Victrixa. Have a look for yourself.”
She followed him over to his work area. “Is this it? The blue colored one here?”
“That’s the one.”
As she put on a white lab coat, she pretended to listen while he prattled on about scientific crap she could have cared less about. She stood and tapped her foot for as long as she could before she finally interrupted. “So, I take it that your other lab rats have been clued in to what the issue was and how to avoid it in the future?”
“Oh, yes. My assistants have all been briefed.”
“So, then. That leaves only one thing left to be done.” She took the syringe from its holder and plunged it into Roman’s shoulder.
“No! Stop! You can’t!” He yelled.
“Oh, stop screaming. No one can hear you.”
“You don’t know what you’ve done! It’s never been tested on humans!”
She picked up another vial of the serum and stabbed him in the side of the neck. She pulled it out and plunged it into his chest as he slid to the floor.
As he was lying there gasping for breath, Victrixa removed the lab coat which was now almost as red as it was white. “The sad thing is, I had intended to let you live. But then you had to break our agreement by selling rogues to that scum Batiste. Greed is such an ugly thing, Roman. Don’t you agree?”
And with that, Victrixa left the laboratory without so much as another glance.
Dimitri tried to open his eyes, but his eyelids felt like gravity was gonna win that war.
“He’s coming around.”
Helen smiled. “Oh, good. Thank you, Ana.”
He looked at his partner while Helen did who knew what with a bunch of tubes.
“What…happened?” It was like someone had poured concrete down his throat.
Ana took his hand. “You got your ass hit by a car. Apparently, the douchebags were on the run from the cops. Well, until I tracked them down.”
“Viktor. Where’s… I remember—”
“I’m right here, little brother.”
Dimitri tried to move, but his whole body ached. “There’s so much…”
He felt the weight of his brother’s hand on his shoulder. “Whoa. Hang on. None of it needs to be in the next five minutes.”
“I’m sorry, Viktor.”
“Don’t be. We’re okay.”
“Alright, folks. I hate to break up the party,” Helen said. “It looks like a bump on the head is the worst of it. I’ll run a few scans to be sure, but he just needs a good night’s sleep.”
Victor pulled a chair beside the bed. “I’d like to stay, if that’s okay. I won’t disturb him.”
Helen shrugged. “I don’t see why not.”
Moments later, just as Dimitri was about to fall asleep, Victor whispered something in Russian he hadn’t heard since he was a child.
“Spokoinoi nochi, my Dimka.”
And he closed his eyes.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Evy sat with Ana in the Bristol Lounge at the Four Seasons in downtown Boston. “What’s it called again?”
“A Feliz Navidad. You know, Merry Christmas in Spanish.”
“What’s in it?”
“Ah, cinnamon, infused tequila, cranberry simple, and lemon juice.”
“It doesn’t sound very merry.” Her stomach gave a little warning turn. She never did very well with mixed drinks. She was a beer kinda girl.
Ana grinned. “I know, but trust me. It tastes just like Christmas.”
Evy figured she was speaking metaphorically. Tentatively, she took a sip. “Oh, my God. It’s just…”
She didn’t even finish. She needed another sip.
“Like Christmas. I told you.”
The two of them savored their drinks and for a moment, it seemed like they just had normal lives and maybe she hadn’t met Ana in the middle of a war.
The female handed her black card to the waiter and Evy was brought back to reality with a jolt. In her old life, she never would have been having a drink with a friend who had that card. At the Four Seasons. And she sure as hell wouldn’t have just charged almost two thousand dollars to one belonging to Troy Thomsen. Troy. She smiled.
“What are you thinking about over there? As if I didn’t know.”
Evy knew her light Irish skin was turning red as she felt heat hit her cheeks.
Ana smiled. “Well, we’ve managed to put a nice dent in your card. I’m so glad you got that leather jacket. It looks amazing. And the dress for James’s Induction. Troy is gonna flip when he sees you in it.”
“Do you think? I don’t know. It’s so expensive.”
Ana laughed. “Are we talking about the same male? The one who re-did part of a school for you?”
Her face grew hotter. “It was a tech lab for a community center.”
“You say tomato—”
“Oh, my God. Troy’s jeans. The ones I brought to have fixed at the tailor. It’s so late.”
“No worries. Mine is just a few blocks away. We can go right now before we head back.”
“That’s the really good one, right? These are his favorites. He would freak if anything happened to them.�
� She followed Ana out into the cold air.
“Trust me. The guy’s a genius. You should see what he’s been able to do with my fighting leathers. He’s been around forever. I’m starting to think he’ll live longer than we will. And most importantly, he doesn’t ask questions.”
Evy buttoned her new jacket and off they went. Before long they were entering a door across the street from Lord and Taylor. They went up a few flights and walked into the shop. There was a man speaking on the phone. Evy pulled Troy’s jeans out of the plastic Gap bag and froze.
Ana was kicking the snow off her boots when she looked up and immediately recognized the look on Evy’s face. She quickly put her body between Evy and Gianni before the Seer closed her eyes and her hair began to move like there was wind in the room.
But she couldn’t stop the blood curdling scream that launched itself from Evy’s throat a moment later and seemed to go on forever.
Suddenly, Evy’s eyes popped open. “I have to go!”
“Evy! Wait!”
She had already run into the stairwell. Ana just managed to get through the door and grab the female’s jacket. What she saw in Evy’s face made her go numb down to her feet. Tears ran down the Seer’s cheeks as she looked up at her.
Evy materialized in the mansion’s main foyer and didn’t so much as pause before she flew up the staircase and ran to her room. She knew Ana was hot on her tail, but she didn’t care. There was no time to explain anything to the female. This was about their world. Hers and Troy’s. Damn it. Where was he?
She turned and ran past the warrior. She yelled her mate’s name as she bolted back down the stairs to the main level.
“Whoa!” Richard said, as she almost collided with him. “I think Troy’s in the pool room.” Evy stopped at the door and her male immediately looked up from taking a shot. He dropped the pool cue and went to her. He slid his hands into her hair and their eyes met, but he didn’t say a word. She felt a pull from her middle and in seconds they were in their room.
Evy heard him ask what was wrong, but not before Christmas ended up all over the mansion’s rich carpet.
“It’s okay. You’re okay.” Troy held back her hair. But even as he said the words, he knew it wasn’t. Something was very wrong. He didn’t need to open himself to her to know that.
His mate steadied herself and shook her head. “No. It isn’t. Troy, he’s got more kids. Cobb has more kids.”
A feeling came back to him in that moment. It was anger so fierce it tore through his insides like wildfire. “How many?”
“I saw two. A boy and a girl.”
He snarled savagely. Evy had him by the back of the neck and she was sayin’ somethin’. It seemed like it took forever for him to understand her. Don’t go alone. That was it. She wanted him to take someone with him. She was pleading with him now. But he couldn’t promise that. This was old business. Shit he shoulda taken care of a long time ago. He looked down at his female and shook his head. He felt her release him in defeat just before he gleamed out.
Dimitri ran through the snowy woods, his leg muscles on fire as he engaged them over and over again. The moon lit up his path as it shone through the barren winter trees. He knew where he was even though he’d never been there before. Branches blocked his way momentarily, until he pushed them aside and they snapped back behind him. A few steps later, he would repeat the process. Everything started to look the same, but Dimitri trudged on until he met an empty field.
He stopped.
Viktor came into view across the meadow to his far right. He tried to call out to him, but he wasn’t sure if his brother could hear him. The male turned his gaze away and looked straight ahead of him, to Dimitri’s right. A female dressed in black leather appeared. At first he thought it was Ana, but he quickly realized she had lighter, chin-length hair. Confused, he looked back at Viktor. His brother turned to look at him and so did the female.
“Nyeht, Dimka!” His brother suddenly yelled.
Out of nowhere a bright light appeared and Dimitri was yelling back. He felt strong hands seize his shoulders, pushing him back down.
“Hey! Dimitri! Easy, kid. It was just a dream. It was a dream.”
He felt the softness of the pillow behind his head and looked up into Viktor’s eyes. “I know who’s after you.”
Troy materialized behind an old shed in the Cobb’s back yard. He’d never asked Evy where the kids were being kept. He didn’t need to. And he didn’t need to feel for their emotions either. They were in the basement. That’s the way it was done. The only thing different was that there was more than one. In all the years he’d been with them, he’d been the only child there.
The last thing he wanted to do was take care of this in front of the kids. He was sure they’d have enough nightmares for a lifetime. He needed to draw the cocksucker out of the house. He gleamed to the opposite side of the building, tore the lock off the box, and pulled the electric meter from its socket. He ripped out the two connections covered in rubber and watched as the house went dark. How long would it take Cobb to check the circuit box in the basement and realize he had to come outside to fix the problem? Ten minutes tops. Then he’d come for his tools. He gleamed into the old shed and waited.
Through his shifter senses, Troy could hear Cobb come out the garage door and walk to the fuse box. There was an endless stream of swearing when the human discovered the disconnected meter. Troy clenched and unclenched his fists as the fucker walked toward the shed. The doors opened, he was suddenly face to face with his torturer. The face that still haunted his dreams was there, but on a body that seemed somehow comically small now.
“Who the… Thomsen. What the hell are—”
Stunned silence. His eyes had to be glowin’, because the human stepped back.
“What the hell are you?”
As Troy’s fist made contact with the motherfucker’s face, he could hear the sound of bone crunching. Cobb hollered, then fell over and landed in the snow. He tried to crawl toward the shed while he spit out teeth and Troy caught him with a heavy boot to the ribcage.
“How many kids have there been you piece of shit? He leaned down into the motherfucker’s face. “I asked you a question. How many!”
Cobb was shaking now, but it didn’t stop him from spitting in Troy’s face. The brother didn’t even bother to wipe it off. It was a cowardly move, one he was used to from the streets he grew up on and the war he now fought in. He picked him up with one hand on Cobb’s neck and slammed him against the shed’s wall. The bastard’s head met the metal with a hollow echo.
“One more shot. How. Many. Kids?”
“F-five,” he managed through one half of his broken face.
“Are you lyin’ to me, Cobb?” Troy growled. “I know you have two kids in there right now.”
“There’ve been five. Two before you. I swear it.”
“Where’s the Missus?”
“Dead. She died. In the summer.” He whimpered. “Please don’t kill me.”
He let him fall to the ground, pulled out his knife, and jammed it through the leg of the fucker’s jeans and into the frozen earth. “Don’t go anywhere.”
Evy paced back and forth in front of their window. She wanted to respect her mate’s wishes, but she knew all too well what he was capable of. She thought back to that day at the apartment when Troy had come for her. Shit. Shit. She panicked. Before she could even think about what she was doing, she had gleamed to the compound hallway. She banged on X’s door.
It opened and Xavier’s eyebrows shot straight up. “Evy? What’s wrong?”
“It’s Troy. He’s gonna kill him, X. I know it.”
He took her gently by the shoulders. “Wait, slow down. Where’s my boy at?”
“I had a vision that Cobb has more children. He’s there. He wouldn’t take anyone with him. X, what if a New Breed kills a human? What’s the punishment?”
“You don’t wanna know.” He pulled his leather coat on. “I’ll find him. I pr
omise you.”
Troy walked down the old basement steps. The smell hit his nostrils and he breathed through his mouth. Just two years ago this was his life. His New Breed sight picked up on two kids crouched down in the corner. One looked like he was in high school. Troy picked up on a lot of k’ul coming at him. The male was a shifter. He had his arms around a young girl.
He approached them slowly and stopped halfway. “I’m not gonna hurt you. I’m here to help. I won’t take another step toward you without your permission.”
A moment or two later, the male gave a nod.
Troy walked toward them. “What’s your name?”
“Christian.”
“Hey, Christian. I’m Troy. And who’s this?”
“Rory. She’s my sister.”
“I need to get you out of here. I want to take you with me. Is that okay?”
The male nodded.
“You two hold onto each other real tight.”
Troy pulled them to him, took a last look around, and gleamed out.
X materialized in the Cobb’s backyard. Troy was gone. He couldn’t sense him anywhere. Not good. The shed was left open and there was a decent amount of blood in the snow. But not enough for a kill. He could sense a human close by, but he sure as hell didn’t see one. At least not until he walked around to the front of the house and looked up. What the… Oh, for fuck’s sake. He sighed.
The human was pinned to the front of the house spread eagle by five knives. One through each hand and foot, and a fifth through what may have possibly been his…yeah, he didn’t need to ponder that any further. It was bad enough he’d have to pull the fucking thing out. He had to give the brother points for creativity. He figured he may as well call the cops. He’d have the douche bag down by the time they arrived anyway.
Mating Call Page 17