by Susan Illene
“I’ll help him coordinate the plans.” He took her hand and squeezed it. “You can be sure we won’t let anything go wrong.”
She jerked her hand away and stood up. “Forget it. I’m handling this one and you guys can follow. That’s the only way it’s going to happen.”
He stood up as well and glowered at her.
“You can’t expect men who’ve lived for thousands of years and fought numerous battles to bend to your will.”
Sparks practically shot from her eyes. “Don’t give me that crap, Lucas. This isn’t my first battle or even my tenth. I’ve fought against humans, supernaturals, and even my own race. This is my father we’re talking about and I want control over how we take him down.”
“It’s out of the question.” Yerik shook his head.
She spun to face him. “Is it?”
Melena and the daimoun exchanged looks. Lucas couldn’t interpret what was going on between them, but he was rather certain he was missing something. There was a hidden message in her eyes. If he didn’t know better, he’d think she had some sort of influence over Yerik, but that wasn’t possible. She hardly knew him. They’d only met once at the ball in New Orleans.
“You’re lucky I am even allowing you to participate in this operation.” Yerik stepped toward her. “I’m certainly not letting you take charge of it.”
She balled her fists. “Wanna bet?”
They stared at each other in what could only be described as a silent battle of wills, glowing vermillion eyes to glowing blue. The animosity between his mate and the daimoun didn’t sit right with him. Lucas understood Yerik’s side of things, but why was Melena fighting so hard for this? She’d never insisted on leading a battle before and this was hardly the time to push for it now. Was there something he was missing? Had her hatred for her father pushed her to irrationality?
Lucas began to pull her back, but then Yerik spoke.
“If I give you control, you will owe me. Do you understand?”
She cast a quick glance up at Lucas. There was the slightest bit of remorse in her eyes, but she looked away before he could examine it further.
“Yes,” she said in a tight voice.
Lucas wasn’t sure he liked Melena owing Yerik a favor. The daimoun could ask for anything, though he’d like to think his former mentor wouldn’t ask for something too dangerous. Yet it still bothered him. The idea that there must be more to this than he knew.
“Perhaps you should consider what you’re asking for first,” Lucas suggested.
“No.” She shook her head. “I’m sure.”
The daimoun’s shoulders relaxed a fraction. “Very well. You shall have control, but you will run all your plans by me.”
Lucas stared at his friend in shock. Had he truly just given Melena command over an operation of this importance? He’d been certain she was wasting her time challenging him for it. Not even owing Yerik a favor should have been enough to sway him.
“Wait a minute…” Lucas held up a hand.
“Fine,” she said, ignoring him. “And I want the Department of Homeland Security involved in this. We can’t kill all the sensors since there are most likely families there, but we can’t let them go again like last time either. DHS is better equipped to hold them long-term than we are and would probably appreciate the opportunity anyway.”
“You want to involve humans?” Lucas asked. Now she’d really gone too far.
“Yeah, actually.” Melena glanced at him. “They know too much about the supernatural world already and there’s no fixing that. We might as well use them to our advantage.”
“It’s risky,” Yerik said, rubbing his chin.
She crossed her arms. “Do you have a better idea? They most likely have women and children at their hideout. If Jerome has kept the group intact—or even grown it—there could be fifty or sixty of them when we go in there. You guys are used to using brute force and magic, but that won’t work well this time. A DHS commando team with bomb-sniffing dogs will be better equipped to handle it and they can keep cops and civilians out of the way.”
Bomb-sniffing dogs. That was an interesting thought. Werewolves could serve the same purpose, but if Jerome had samples of the plague virus it’d be too risky to bring them. And among the supernatural races, only animal shape-shifters had a heightened enough sense of smell to detect explosives.
It was too bad none of them had been at Charlie’s house—the former shaman of Fairbanks—before Jerome’s group blew it up. They could have sniffed out the bombs then. Trained dogs might be their only option if they wished to consider the safety of everyone involved. With Melena participating in the raid, he certainly wanted anything that could help protect her. They still didn’t know if she could survive an explosion with her new immortality and he didn’t want to find out the answer.
“You’ve been thinking about this for some time,” Lucas observed.
She glanced at him and once again a flash of guilt flashed in her eyes. “Yeah, I have.”
“What are you not telling me?”
“Nothing.” She put her hands in her jeans pockets. “It’s just that while you’ve been searching for your brother I’ve been trying to find my father so I can take him down. This is my chance—if we do it right.”
He searched her gaze and decided he could believe that much. Even if there seemed to be more to the story than she was willing to tell. She’d mentioned her father more than once when he’d visited during recent months. Perhaps she’d been trying to tell him what she wanted all along and he’d been too focused elsewhere to pay attention.
“And you believe you can handle this?” he asked.
She set her jaw. “Yes.”
Lucas hated to give her credit on this one, but she had made a few good points about their battle strategy already. He might have once wished to wipe her race out, but his thinking had somewhat changed since then. After seeing Melena held against her will by Jerome and his group he knew there could be others like her. Ones who were innocent in all this and would be caught in the middle of a raid.
“This is a lot to take on,” Lucas warned.
“I know, but you’ve got to trust me to do it.” She gave him a look that said if he showed anything more than a little doubt he might not sleep in her bed for the next year.
Lucas used to laugh at men who allowed women to manipulate them in such ways. He still did, but only because he knew Melena could only hold out for a short period herself. It just wouldn’t be easy to live with her until she forgave him.
He put a hand on her cheek and caressed it. “I have faith you’ll do your best, but only if you are willing to work with us and trust our experience in this as well. Can you do that?”
“Yes,” she said with absolute confidence her voice.
Perhaps it was time to let her take the lead and see how she handled it. Melena was getting stronger and more experienced with each year that passed. She was also as inventive and cunning as their adversaries—her thinking modern like theirs.
She’d demonstrated that much when she invaded Purgatory using RPGs and grenades. Something he never would have considered. Her leadership might be the very thing they needed to ensure success against a group that was known for their ruthlessness. It would also prove to the supernatural world where she stood once and for all.
Lucas nodded and stepped away. “Then you will have my support.”
Relief showed in her eyes.
“I’m not adverse to her coordinating with DHS.” Yerik drew their attention. “But I want to have at least half a dozen of our people join the raid as well. We can’t be sure what types of defensive measures Jerome may have set up. It’s best to be prepared for anything.”
“I would have suggested that anyway,” Melena replied in a brusque tone. “While you choose which of your guys you want to join us I’ll get in touch with O’Connell. He snuck back into Fairbanks a couple weeks ago. It’s about time I pay him a visit.”
Yerik started to
reply, but his cell phone rang. He checked the screen and frowned.
“I must take this.”
No sooner than the daimoun headed off to the dining room then Lucas’ cell phone buzzed. He pulled it out of his pocket and answered.
“Master, we’ve got a problem.” This came from Sayer, another vampire subordinate who currently ruled the supernatural population in Juneau until a new leader could be found.
Lucas rubbed his forehead—even immortals could get headaches. “What is it?”
“Several werewolves in town have come down sick, as well as a pixie family. We have no idea what is wrong and nothing seems to cure it.”
There went their hope of this being an isolated problem. “We believe it may be the plague. It’s begun spreading in Fairbanks as well. Keep those who are sick quarantined from others of their race. I’ll be there soon to assist you.”
He hung up. They didn’t have a vampire doctor in Juneau. Lucas would need to get advice from Paula before going to help Sayer.
“It’s started there, too?” Melena asked.
“Yes.”
It disappointed him for more than the obvious reason. With no new leads on his brother, he’d hoped to stay with her and assist in planning the raid on Jerome’s hideout. He couldn’t do that if Juneau was under a crisis as well. Lucas was partly responsible for the city after failing to protect its former leader and one of his closest friends.
“It’s okay.” She gave him a weak smile. “We can hold down the fort here.”
Yerik came into the room. His expression was as dark as Lucas had ever seen it.
“The plague has spread. It has reached New Orleans and several other cities that we know about. I must go.” He looked at Melena. “Keep me updated on the raid planning.”
“I will.”
Lucas pulled her into his embrace and kissed her. “Don’t do anything foolish while I’m gone.”
“Who me? I would never…”
He flashed away before she could finish. She could yell at him later for it.
Chapter Six
Melena
“Hey, what’s up?”
Cori nodded at me as I walked into her tattoo parlor. She was checking out a customer. There was fresh ink on the guy’s arm in the shape of a skull and crossbones. How original. I’d had her put a snake made of chains on me last year that wrapped around my thigh, back, and stomach. It held a lot of significance at that point in my life and in many ways still did.
“I need a favor, but it can wait until you’re done,” I answered, leaning against the counter.
We’d become friends back when I worked at the neighboring herb shop. The one my friend Felisha had owned before Derrick killed her. Bambi—the troll with the sick husband—operated it now. I hadn’t come back to the shopping center since we’d cleared out Felisha’s things, but I needed to face the past and move on. Visiting tattoo parlor first helped, though I really did need to come here.
Cori had proven more than once that she had my back. She might be a human who weighed no more than one twenty, but her murky past had taught her how to hold her own. There was an inner strength that gave her an edge.
She finished cashing her customer out and giving him instructions on the aftercare of his tattoo. The skinny man with a shaved head gave me an appraising look before heading out the door. At least he didn’t linger.
“What do you need?” she asked.
“An hour or so of your time if you can spare it.”
“Where’s Kerbasi?” Cori peered around my shoulder as if he might be hiding behind me.
“Out in the Jeep. He’s being cranky today.”
I’d been making him stay in his shack since the day before. His running commentary on the merits of the plague was getting on my nerves. If I could have left him there for this trip, I would have.
“Figures.” She walked over to the front door, flipped the sign to CLOSED, and locked it.
“You’re not even going to ask what this is about?”
She returned to the counter, grabbed a ponytail holder from underneath, and proceeded to pull back her black hair. It barely touched her shoulders.
“I’m sure you’ll tell me.”
“It could be risky,” I warned.
“Good. It’s been boring around here lately.”
Cori leaned toward a small mirror on the counter and touched up her mascara. With her porcelain skin and dark hair, she didn’t need much make-up to appear dramatic.
“Did you hear the plague is going around?” I asked.
She poked her eyelid with the mascara brush and cursed. “Dammit, Melena. Don’t joke around like that.”
“I’m not.”
She lifted her gaze from the mirror. “Is that why Bambi’s shop has been closed since yesterday?”
“Yeah. Her husband is sick with it.”
“Why wasn’t it on the news? You’d think everyone would be talking about it.” She gestured at me to follow her toward the back storage room.
“It’s only affecting sups. There’s a magic spell on the disease so it targets specific races entwined with another spell to make it virulent enough to get past their stronger immune systems.”
Cori was silent as she put on her leather jacket and a knit cap. I didn’t say anything as she made her way around the shop shutting things down. By the looks of it, she’d decided not to come back for the rest of the day. Probably just as well. It’d be dark soon and with the snow coming down again there wouldn’t be much business anyway.
She paused while counting out the cash in her register drawer. “So you can’t use your blood to break one spell without canceling the other.”
“Pretty much,” I confirmed.
“Whoever set that up really thought it through.” She locked the cash in a safe and grabbed her purse. “Alright, I’m ready. Are you driving or am I?”
“Separate cars. I need you to distract a DHS agent and get him to open his office door. I’ll move in after that, but I don’t want him to see me coming until too late.”
I’d scouted the place out a couple times. There were cameras strategically placed around the building. No outside guards, but the doors looked rather sturdy. O’Connell knew he wasn’t supposed to be there since he’d agreed to leave the city last year—and stay out—so he’d never open up for me. Considering I was coming to ask for help, I didn’t want to damage his place getting inside. I just wanted to shake him up a little.
“Are you sure he’ll open the door for me? DHS probably figured out I’m your friend.”
They’d followed me around for a while back in August until I confronted them. It was only after I promised to feed them information about something big coming up that they’d gone away, though obviously not for good. I had to assume they chose to send O’Connell back because we’d served in the army together. Maybe they thought I would be sentimental and not retaliate against him. He’d no doubt neglected to mention we were never friends.
“They’ve probably identified you, but if you put a scarf around your neck and pull your hat down the agent shouldn’t recognize you. It’s me they’re more worried about,” I reassured her. “Just don’t do anything to make him pull his gun.”
She smiled. “I think I can handle it.”
“That’s what I’m counting on.”
***
I parked down the street from the old mechanic shop O’Connell had leased. It was a small, unassuming place with one small window and a door next to it where the office must have been located. There were also two bay doors, but those were the only entry/exit points.
DHS had used a similar place the last time they were here. This one had an open parking lot surrounding it and cameras on every corner so you couldn’t sneak up on the building. The restaurant located across the street appeared to have regular customers, ensuring no one could attack openly without drawing the attention of humans. At least not during business hours and I wanted to be home before Emily returned from school.
> “How long must we sit out here?” Kerbasi asked from the passenger seat.
“Not long.”
Cori was pulling up now. She was going to pretend she needed work done on her car—which was believable if you heard how awful it sounded—and didn’t realize the place was no longer a mechanic shop. It had just closed four months before so it wasn’t entirely implausible. The main thing I needed her to do was draw O’Connell away from his camera screens. Based on my previous surveillance, he was the only one from his agency in town. For now.
“I could have gone in there and spoke to him for you.” The guardian put his hands up to the vents, attempting to warm them.
“Nah. I’ve got a different plan.”
He glanced at me. “I admit I’m curious to see what it is.”
“Just a little something to shake him up. He broke our deal and needs a lesson.”
“I could help,” he offered.
I wished I could say he was being generous, but he really just wanted something to do. The guardian didn’t know how to spend his time now that he didn’t have prisoners to torture. All he could do to me was talk me to death.
“Just stay invisible or better yet, stay in the Jeep.”
“I’ve already stayed once today.” He gave me a stubborn look.
There were only so many things I could order him to do. Anything else required major bribery and even that didn’t always work.
“At least stay invisible until I’m done giving him a hard time…please.”
He sighed. “Very well.”
“Oh, look. He’s opened the door for Cori. Time to go.”
We got out of the Jeep and crossed the street, working our way there while I tried to keep out of O’Connell’s line of sight. He hadn’t stepped outside, which helped. Cori was still talking to him as I crept along the front of the building with Kerbasi invisible behind me.