by Janice Jones
When her eyes moved back up to his face, she saw a finely chiseled chin.
Smooth skin without scars or blemishes. Narrow nose, deep set eyes and high forehead completed his perfect face. Haircut, fresh and shiny in the pale light of the room.
“Visiting the wolves was not a good idea,” he said to the tablet under his hand and not at her.
“I was just seeing an old friend,” she grinned. When she reached for the bottled water the pain shot through her body and rattled her teeth. “Did I break some rule or something?”
He looked up with a less amused expression. He sat back, dropped the pen.
“As long as you’re in this city, you will do as you’re told,” he stated firmly. “So yes, you did break a rule. The Pack is off limits to you right now because of your relationship with Matt and his brother. Keep in mind that you’re working for us. We don’t associate with them unless we have to, understand? The head of the Council is not much for games and nothing that has happened up to now is very funny.”
“Who I associate with is none of your business,” Alex stated just as firmly. “So, if you could just get to the point of us being here, really, we’ll be on our way.”
“You’re here because you’re helpful to us,” Adam replied. “If you become more of a liability than an asset, we’ll cut you loose, if you’re lucky!”
“And if we’re unlucky?”
Every muscle in his face twitched into a grin so evil, she held back a shudder. He probably knew it.
Alex smiled when she smelled his anger. “Kill us and you’ll die too!”
“Are you sure? It seems to me the Tracker team has pissed someone off! We’d be doing someone a favor if we just ended you right now!”
An image appeared like an apparition in the center of empty space. His voice rumbled all over the room. “That’s enough, Adam.” The hologram floated above the table for everyone to see. “Good evening,” he smiled, green eyes sparkling bright, ashy brown hair immaculately styled.
“Conner Gale,” Jason announced, “This is Alex Stone and the current Tracker team.”
He seemed to be everywhere at once, his smile still in place.
“Ms. Stone, it is nice to finally meet you. I’m sorry it has to be under these circumstances.”
“I’m sure,” Alex replied. “Where’s Coop?”
He smiled again. He didn’t blink or flinch or seem to have any kind of tell.
“I was told he was back at 51, isn’t that right Jason?”
Alex held her hand up and Jason closed his mouth.
“Our contacts say someone took him from there.” She rubbed her chin and sipped from the bottle again. “Was it you?”
Conner moved slightly and blinked once.
“No,” he replied. “We have a team searching Vegas as well.”
“How does someone walk into a supposed secure installation and walk out with a body?” she said. “Who took him?”
“We have no idea,” he hissed. “We want him back just as badly as you do, believe me!”
“Why? What were you going to do with him?”
“If we could have save him, we would have. If not, he was to be turned by morning.”
The air felt stale and cold all of a sudden. Her palms began to sweat and her leg trembled.
“Under whose orders?” Alex asked softly.
“Mine,” Conner answered in the same manner.
“It’s my understanding the Trackers still take orders from the Pentagon,” she stated. “They are still agents of the United States military and, as such, take orders from the Secretary of Defense. So why would he just let you turn one of our agents at will.”
Conner cut his eyes to his left for a second then back to the group.
“The Secretary and I have an understanding,” he stated. “The Trackers are contracted to do work for the DoD from time to time, but Strategic Assets Management is owned by me now. My company has been working on a cure to the side effects of the supplements, but we needed the original team to work on what went wrong. Team Commander Jesse Cooper, Colonel Benjamin Palmer and you are the only living test subjects now. Cooper was in the first stages of degeneration, with breakdowns at the cellular level causing severe muscle pain, weakening of the immune system, and slowing of his healing abilities.”
Alex opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She almost emptied the water bottle and another appeared over her shoulder immediately; the blonde female vampire nodded at her on the way back to her seat.
“Coop was not a member of the original team,” Alex said in a low tone.
“He is, however, suffering from the side effects of those pills. If we don’t find him soon, he will die. With your cooperation, I may be able to find a cure.”
“Define cooperation.”
He fidgeted slightly, looked away, and then looked back at her. “I think if we were able to examine you and Colonel Palmer, we could figure out what’s going wrong. Only you and he seem to be fine, you especially. Are you so selfish that you wouldn’t even try to save your friends if you could?”
As hard as she tried, Alex knew her expression changed at his comment. Conner dropped his gaze and leaned forward at the screen.
“I’m sorry. That was rude,” he continued. “But we’re running out of time. I can’t force you to anything you don’t want to do, but I hope you consider the alternative before you say no.”
_______________
Alex watched the sun rise over the distant mountains. She dressed quickly and knocked on their door before 7am. Kai answered, bed headed and glassy eyed as he yawned.
“Hey.”
She nodded at the guards as she eased through the door. A faint cigar odor still lingered in the air. He scratched at his leg as he stumbled away with a nod in the other direction when she asked where Sebastian was.
Alex pushed the door open slowly and stuck her head through first.
His entire body was covered in the blanket like a corpse, barely moving as he inhaled and exhaled. When the blankets rose, it took almost a minute to fall, like he had taken a deep breath and held it.
She stepped inside, stopped at the foot of the bed, unable to tell where his head was in the mass of blankets.
Sebastian coughed and rolled. When the blanket fell away, he looked up at her, blue eyes glassy, but clear. “Hi.”
“Hi,” she replied. “Sleep okay?”
His bare arms came out and he stretched his body long. “Yea, you?”
Alex shrugged and stepped back as he sat up straight. “Where’s the other case?”
He pointed between his legs underneath the bed.
“I’ll get that when we’re done,” she said. “Buy you guys some breakfast?”
“Can I asked you a question first?” he yawned and stretched.
“Sure.”
Adjusting the blankets around his waist, Sebastian stared at Alex with a serious expression on his face. “What did Kit want to know about me?”
Alex couldn’t hold the grin as it pushed at her lips. He grinned back.
“Remember when I tossed you off that building?” He nodded and yawned again. “You caught yourself.”
“So.”
“How do you think you did that?”
He smiled bright. “Skills!”
Alex laughed. “Not quite.” She sat down next to him, then pushed herself against the headboard. When he turned to her, he looked afraid. “You weren’t actually holding on to the bricks.”
“Yea, I was. I could feel them,” he smirked and nodded like a six year old who’d just been told there’s no Santa.
“You were levitating,” she said plainly.
He blinked, twice; then frowned. “What?”
“Levitation,” Alex pronounced every syllable. “Apparently, you inherited the power of telekines
is. If your sire could do it, then you will too, eventually.”
The bed shook as he laughed at her. His eyes watered and his shallow breath caught in his lungs for a few minutes. When he composed himself again, he turned to her with a slightly less serious look on his face. “So,” he cleared his throat to keep from laughing again. “Why would the call girl care?”
Alex sat forward, folded her legs in front of her and eased her face close to his. The amusement faded quickly from his posture and his lips. “If you have never had sex, in mid-air, you’re missing out.”
He seemed to let that sink. “I’ve never been able to do that before.”
“Anybody ever throw you off a building before?”
“No.”
Alex stood and turned to him. “You reached out, instinctively, to catch yourself. Your focus was on not falling. Eventually, you’ll be able to do it without a second thought. It’s pretty freaking cool, actually.”
“Cool as shit,” he replied. “Can all vampires levitate?”
“It depends,” she answered. “Some things develop over time and depends on what your sire could do. Obviously, yours had telekinetic powers. Some are telepaths—mind readers. Others, shifters. I guess you could be taught to do those things, but telekinesis seems to be your dominant power.”
From the look on her face, he guessed he should have known these things already. Unfortunately, he didn’t ask very many questions about what it meant to be a vampire. His sire, a beautiful thief, didn’t offer up any information either. All she told him was he’d live forever, practically, and be stronger than any human being ever imagined. That sounded pretty good considering his situation back then.
Sebastian Rayne, rising star in the surfing world, had been paralyzed in a competition almost ten years ago. At the height of his career he faced a wheelchair, with his mother as his caretaker for the rest of his life. He couldn’t ask her to give up her life to care for her paraplegic son, so he jumped at immortality without a second thought. Later, he realized his mistake.
“I need a quick shower,” he yawned again.
Alex just stood as he stared up at her. He raised an eyebrow and so did she. When he smiled so did she.
“I’m naked,” he stated.
“Okay,” she shrugged.
He cleared his throat and pulled the blanket with him when he stood. As he moved by her, she turned to see the blanket fall to floor and him disappearing inside the bathroom.
“Nice ass,” she whispered as she moved toward the bedroom door again.
“Thanks,” he yelled, slamming the bathroom door closed.
_______________
There was a long stretch limo, four SUVs and armed guards waiting when they returned to meet at Jason’s home behind the hotel. Alex warned Sebastian not to let that case out of his sight, not even for a second. He swore on his life he wouldn’t. As they followed Oren inside, radios crackled and men spoke into their hands, with eyes hidden behind dark glasses, weapons under long overcoats.
The temperature dropped a few degrees and the wind had picked up again. A gust pushed them through the front door as Jason and Adam came into view.
Jason approached with a weird look in his eyes. He was angry, but scared about something too.
“Something’s happened,” he said to the group.
“You found Coop?” Xavier asked almost as if he were afraid to hear the answer.
Jason stepped up to Alex, laid a hand on her shoulder. “It’s . . . Matthias.”
Alex felt her heart sink into her stomach then she stepped back. “Where?”
“A few miles outside town,” Adam replied as he joined them in the center of the room. “We’ve notified Lucas. He’d like you to meet him at the compound. The car is waiting.”
Without so much as a sorry, Adam marched through the front door on the phone like he’d just announced snow in the forecast. Alex couldn’t get enough breath in her lungs to yell, or breathe for that matter.
“We’ll go to 51,” Sebastian whispered to her. “Unless you want us with you.”
“No,” she said.
“We should stick with you tonight,” Xavier said.
“No. I need you guys to see what you can find out about what happened at 51,” she said heading for the door. “I wanna know who took Coop and where.”
“I might have some contacts that’ll talk to me,” Sebastian sighed. “There’s a club on the other end of the strip where they hang these days. We’ll see what we can come up with.”
Chapter 24
As the car pulled up the winding drive, her palms began to sweat.
Everything looked the same, exactly the same. The cactus spread throughout the property. The stone lawn out front and transplanted brush around the covered porch were still immaculate.
When her car came to a stop, the door opened and a young werewolf waited. A hand appeared and she took it. He helped her from the car with a slight grin on his face. Maybe he recognized her or maybe he’d been told about her connection to Roland and his sons. Show respect to those who have the respect of your superiors. Until he was told otherwise, she was sure Lucas had told all of them she was welcomed here.
“Welcome, Ms. Stone,” the young man stated, “Lucas is expecting you.”
The Great Room was well lit with a fire raging in the corner. The fireplace was big enough for a human being to stand upright in it. That was probably the point.
“I’ll let him know you’re here,” the young man announced as he disappeared around a dim corner.
In a few minutes, she could hear heavy footfalls down the hall. His scent was strong, as strong as it was the other night.
“Sorry,” he said entering the room in a slight jog. “I got hung up.”
In his arms, Alex found she missed the safety he’d always made her feel when he was around.
“Father will be down shortly,” Lucas stated. “Can I get you a drink?”
“I’m good,” Alex said. She followed him to the bar at the back of the room where he poured whiskey in a shot glass and smiled at her. “Lucas . . .
“Don’t say it,” Lucas said. “People have been saying that to me all day.”
“I’m sorry,” she replied. “What have you found out?”
Lucas shook his head as he emptied the drink then poured another. “Nothing yet.”
“I can help.”
“No you can’t,” he said. “This is Pack business.”
He nodded toward the couch and they took a seat. The fire crackled and Alex felt her nerves do the same. When Matt first brought her here, Lucas was not too happy. He never liked outsiders, especially human ones. And he really didn’t like her. The longer she trained here for that last assignment, the more Lucas seemed to always be around. Before long, he took over for Matt. Of course he was a better tracker and fighter, so it made sense he’d trained her to fight, to track any target and survive in the wilderness. And as young girls often do, she developed feelings for him that went well beyond teacher and student.
“So,” Lucas’s low voice brought her back to the present. “What are you doing here, Alex, with the vampires?”
“Favor for a friend,” she lied. “I was hoping Matt could help me . . .” she trailed off when the frown formed on his face.
“Help you with what?” he asked.
“I need to find Becker,” she lied again.
“We haven’t seen that guy in years,” he growled. “Do you think he’s involved in this?”
“I’m not sure.”
When he grabbed her arm, she didn’t try to jerk free. “Alex.”
“Lucas,” she tried to remain calm because he wasn’t. “I will do everything I can to find out who did this. When I do, I will deliver them to you, I swear it.”
His grip eased up, but he took her hand and pulled it to his cheek. Her
skin tingled when he brushed his lips against the back of her hand. He kissed her hand then placed it on his leg, keeping it there with his own. The warmth of his skin snaked up her arm and scattered through her body.
“You shouldn’t be involved in this,” he whispered. “You have bigger problems right now.”
“I can handle it,” she sighed.
Before she could stand, he’d taken her face in his warm hands and kissed her. A brilliantly passionate kiss that made her head spin and sent chills everywhere. She’d never known him to be so forward with her. In their past, he’d treated her like a sister. He’d even referred to her as such on several occasions. Now he was kissing her like they’d been lovers once, or that he wanted to be now.
“Lucas,” she exhaled, as she pushed away.
“Sorry,” he said with one last peck on her cheek. “I used to think you’d be a kid forever. The feelings you had for me, I couldn’t return them, not then.”
“You were my very first kiss, real kiss,” she replied with a squeeze of his warm hand. “And I knew you and Deanna were promised to each other then, but I still had a massive crush on you.”
Lucas smiled at her, “Same here.”
They stood and turned to the doorway when they heard the sound of footsteps in the hall. The disturbance in the entryway meant only one thing. Lucas stood as he pulled Alex with him.
He hardly looked like a man whose body was being eaten away by cancer. But the hand carved cane he used to walk said differently. Alex had never known him to depend on anything or anybody. But his uncharacteristically slow rate of speed made it clear to her he really was sick.
Roland hugged Lucas, then turned his wolfish grey eyes to Alex as he placed the cane in front of him and held on with both hands. He sighed, then he smiled at her. His reddish brown skin stretched over those high cheekbones and the chandelier lights danced in his eyes.