by Naomi Martin
“Wait, I can tell you what she’s planning next,” Viv interjects, raising her head. “If you let me live, I’ll tell you what her plan is.”
“Why don’t you tell me, and then I’ll decide whether or not you deserve to live,” I respond.
Her body trembles with fear as she looks at me. But she licks her lips and does her best to stiffen her spine. She stands on her own again, looking at me with a confidence in her eyes I know she doesn’t feel. Still, I give her kudos for trying.
“She’s going to kill some senator,” she says. “Cook. I think his name is Cook. She and the vampire she’s screwing were talking about it, said something about needing to make it look like an accident.”
I purse my lips as I look at her. The information is intriguing, I have to say. That Raven—or, rather, the Breakers—would attempt to assassinate a key ally of mine shows they’re thinking bigger picture for a change. It shows me they’re in for the long run and have identified the sources of opposition to them inside our government. Or, at least, some of them.
It makes me see I need to rethink how I’ve viewed the Breakers this whole time. I’d thought of them more as scavengers—a group that hits our convoys, frees their people, and steals our supplies. I never once considered the possibility that they were thinking long range, or that they might be attempting to influence legislation. It also tells me the freaks have some allies in key spots.
It’s impressive that they’ve been able to do this all under my nose, and it’s disturbing that I never saw it happening. It’s even more disturbing that Senator Cook never saw fit to mention it to me.
Which makes me wonder what else he’s holding back from me.
“That’s good, right?” Viv pleads. “I did good bringing you that information, didn’t it?”
My mind is spinning in a hundred different directions and she’s annoying me. I need some peace to sort through all of those thoughts. I nod to the guards and they haul her out, kicking and screaming the whole way.
“Wait,” Jennie calls.
The guards stop and Jenni hustles over to them. Viv struggles and thrashes in their grasp, screaming like a banshee the whole time. One of the guards presses his stun gun to her and pulls the trigger. There’s a loud sound of crackling electricity and Viv’s body contorts and writhes. But her screams cut off abruptly and she goes limp in their arms again.
Jenni completely avoids looking at Viv as she unclasps the bracelet and drops it into the pocket of her lab coat. That done, she turns and strides back to her workstation while the guards leave. The door hisses closed behind them and, turning to Jenni, I see her watching them go from the corner of her eye, a look of distaste on her face. I know she doesn’t approve of some of my tactics, but that’s just the way it goes. She supports our goals, and that’s what matters to me.
She turns to me, that frown still upon her face. “It’s encouraging. She did attempt the task we implanted in her mind,” Jenni says, obviously trying to ignore what just happened. “It shows that we’re making tremendous progress.”
I nod. “Your work exceeded my expectations. I am very pleased, Jenni,” I tell her. “Viv was just too weak to fulfill the mission. That’s not your fault. It is, as you say, encouraging.”
“Where is Senator Cook?” she asks.
“Had business back in Washington,” I reply. “Left yesterday.”
“You’re going to tell him about the threat to his life?”
I nod vaguely. As much as I like Jenni, and as much as I value her, the one thing I can’t stand about her is her sense of morality. She’s so stiff and rigid; her moral compass is too fixed. I know I should warn Cook. But I hesitate. I need to think on it some. My instincts are telling me to wait. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned over my long career in the service, it’s to always trust my instincts.
“Colonel Villa,” the voice crackles over the radio.
I snatch it off my belt and key the button. “This is Villa.”
“We’ve detained two men,” the voice comes back. “We’re holding them in detention room one. I thought you might want to have a word.”
“On my way.”
I replace the radio on my belt and catch Jenni looking at me again. I can tell she’s waiting for me to answer her question.
“Yes, I’m going to talk to the senator,” I say. “Don’t you worry your pretty little head about it. All will be well.”
She smiles and seems mollified for the moment. As rigidly moralistic as she can be, she also wants to believe in the best of people. Which makes her gullible. The truth is, I don’t know what I’m going to do about Cook yet. But, as I leave her workshop, a plan starts forming in my mind.
* * * * *
“I know you,” I say.
“Doubtful,” he replies. “I’m good with faces and I’ve never seen yours before.”
Captain Morris, the man who’d caught the two shifters prowling around outside, stands at attention next to the door. He’s staring straight ahead, but I know he isn’t missing a thing. He is a tightly coiled spring, ready to strike at a moment’s notice.
I look across the table at the man sitting there, bound in a pair of Elemental-built binders. He’s a tall, hulking man. Six-foot-three at least, with sandy blonde hair, dark eyes, and the physique of a body builder. He’s got an aura of violence around him, like he’ll take my head off at a moment’s notice for no particular reason.
Of course, I know who he is; I did from the moment I laid eyes on him. I saw him here the last time I visited the Pit. But he’s right, we’ve never officially met. Given that I know everything there is to know about Raven McCabe, though, I know that this is one of her men: Gray Montrose.
“Believe me when I say I know all there is to know about you, Gray.”
He does a solid job of masking his surprise at my using his name—a slight widening of the eyes and a tension in his shoulders. But it’s only there for a moment before he’s leaning back in his seat and smiling wide at me, like he and I are old buddies.
“Are you surprised I know your name?” I ask.
He shrugs. “I get around a lot,” he replies with a smirk. “I’m sure lots of people know my name. Did I bang your kid sister or something? Wife, maybe?”
A faint grin touches my lips. He’s got balls, I’ll give him that.
“So, anyway, it’s been fun,” he says. “But I should be gettin’ out of here. Things to do, people to see and all that.”
I chuckle. “Yeah, you’re not going anywhere,” I reply. “But I think you know that. I mean, I know you know exactly where you are.”
Gray clenches his jaw and lowers his eyes, and I can see the first stirrings of fear in his face. His hands clench into fists, but he forces them open.
“Why did you come out here?” I ask. “You had to know this would happen. And I know you know who I am.”
He sighs but says nothing. The smile is long gone from his face, replaced by an expression of bitterness and anger. I get the sense that he didn’t actually know where he was, that he stumbled onto this place and we had him before he realized it.
“So?” I press. “How is it that you are sitting here right now?”
He remains silent, glowering down at the table. I think the weight of the situation is finally pressing down on him.
“Where’s Lucas?” he asks.
“He’s fine. He’s well taken care of, don’t worry. As you will be,” I assure him. “But I’d still like to know how you wound up outside my facility.”
“We were following Viv,” he finally mutters. “Your lackey. We were focused on her and didn’t realize…”
I nod. It’s about what I thought. These shifters get so laser-focused on their prey they don’t take care to pay attention to their surroundings. I have no trouble believing he found himself here without realizing it, without knowing exactly where he was until my men were taking him into custody. Dogs on a scent tend to wear blinders.
As I stare at him, I marvel at the stroke of dumb
luck that just fell into my lap. It adds yet another layer to the idea that’s been forming in my mind since I left Jenni’s workshop. It’s a plan that’s coming together nicely.
“Welcome back to the Pit, Gray,” I say. “You and I are going to do some tremendous things together.”
Chapter Seventeen
Raven
I draw in a sharp breath and wince as Kayla sends threads of Spirit through me, healing my wounds.
“Sorry,” she murmurs.
“It’s okay,” I say. “I appreciate you helping me.”
“Of course.”
Viv’s claws raked me deeper than I thought they had. They weren’t life-threatening by any means, but they certainly hurt like hell. Over the last couple of days, she’s been working on getting my wounds to heal faster. The clock is ticking on taking Cook out, and I need to be back to one hundred percent as fast as I can. Or as close to it as possible, anyway.
“You may have scars when this is all over,” she warns.
I shrug. “It’s fine. I’m not so vain that I’m going to freak out about a few scars,” I tell her. “We’re fighting a war, after all.”
She gives me a small smile, her eyes narrowing in concentration as she focuses on her weaves. They feel like thin fingers of ice sliding beneath my skin. It’s an uncomfortable feeling, to say the least.
“Have you heard anything about Gray?” she asks.
I shake my head, that familiar knot forming in my belly. “No, but I know he’s okay,” I say, my voice barely more than a whisper. “For now.”
It’s been two days since he and Lucas went racing off into the darkness, pursuing Viv, intent on dragging her back here to answer for her treason. I didn’t want him to go at the time. I was worried about what might happen to them, or what they might be walking into out there. And now that two days have passed, that worry has only grown.
As I lay on the table, I turn my focus inward and concentrate on the bond that exists between us. Ever since the four of us Joined together all those months ago, I’ve been able to tap that connection and feel them out there. It’s the only spot of comfort I’ve had in all of this; knowing he’s still alive.
But it makes me wish that I’d spent more time learning about our connection, about the process of Joining and what we can do. Every once in a while, if I focus really hard, I can catch a flash of their emotions. I can sometimes tap into their feelings and right now, as I focus hard, I can feel Gray’s rage. It’s the dominant emotion, and almost all that I can feel from him. But there’s something else. Fear? Pain? I don’t know. Everything else is faint, drowned out by his fury. All I know for sure is that he’s somewhere he doesn’t want to be, and he’s really pissed off about it.
“Okay, I think we’re done for the day,” Kayla says. “You’re almost as good as new. I’ve been able to speed the growth of skin, so you shouldn’t be in too much danger of tearing your wounds open again.”
I slide off the table and put my shirt on. “Thank you, Kayla,” I say. “You have a real talent for this.”
She shrugs. “I’m learning more about my abilities, too,” she says. “It’s nice to have an actual live body to practice on.”
“Glad to be your guinea pig.” I grin. “I’ll see you later.”
I walk out of the room she’s turned into her office and see a few people in the hallway waiting to be seen. Kayla’s turned into our de facto medic, which is a good thing. I’m so focused on learning to use my abilities to kill and destroy, I never would have thought about using them to heal the way she’s doing.
Her skill and initiative are impressive and definitely helps us out. It’s nice to know we have somebody who can patch us up after a raid. We usually need it. And I like that Kayla recognizes her limitations. She knows she’s not a fighter, so she’s turned her skill inward and found a way to become a valuable asset. And I’m learning a lot from her in the process.
Compared to her, I’m clumsy and fumbling, but I’m learning weaves that can help us in the field. It’s useful knowledge to have. Being able to keep somebody stable until we can get them here to Kayla, who’s way more advanced in her skills, means we might not lose as many people as we have over the time I’ve been here.
More than that, I’m really glad to see that Kayla’s position has changed. She’s no longer an outcast and is being embraced by everybody. I’m glad they’re finally seeing what a good person she is and are welcoming her into their groups. I see a real difference in her confidence and it’s good to see her coming out of her shell.
I turn a corner and nearly run head-first into Coral. We both jump back, startled, then laugh.
“Hey, how are you feeling?” she asks.
“Better. Almost back to normal,” I respond.
“That’s a good thing,” she says. “We need you out there.”
“Got a lesson with Kayla today?”
She nods. “The girl is a genius,” she says. “I never would have thought to use weaves like she does.”
I nod my agreement. “She’s going to help us save a lot of lives.”
“That she is,” Coral replies. She looks around, then leans close to me. “Hey, I’m hearing rumors about you assassinating a senator or something. Is that true?”
“Who told you that?”
She shrugs. “I can’t recall offhand. But there are a few people talking about it,” she admits. “They’re saying he’s some bigwig and if you take him out, this war may come to an end.”
I sigh, annoyed. I don’t know who’s talking. I certainly haven’t. And I doubt Dora has. Which means I’m going to have to read the boys the riot act. This isn’t supposed to be common knowledge. It’s a secret mission—emphasis on the word secret.
“You need to keep this under your hat, Coral,” I tell her. “This isn’t food for the grapevine.”
She nods solemnly. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know,” she says. “I just heard it and wanted to ask you, because if there’s a way to end this war...”
I frown as her voice trails off. I know she’s only asking because she’s excited by the prospect of this conflict being over. Of being able to walk the streets in peace, and without fear of being grabbed and renditioned to some black site prison, subjected to torture and torment. It’s something I long for, too, so I can’t be too hard on her for wanting to know if it’s true.
“All I can say is we’ve been working on something big,” I say. “It could significantly swing the war our way. It could possibly end it. Maybe. But that’s hardly a guarantee.”
Her eyes widen and the smile on her face stretches from ear to ear. She claps her hands over her mouth, all but bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet with excitement.
“You can’t mention this to anybody, Coral,” I press. “I’m dead serious.”
“I promise,” she says. “My lips are sealed.”
I nod. I trust Coral to be discreet. She’s a good person and dedicated to the cause. But, like everybody else, she wants it to be over already. And I can’t blame her for that. She gives me a wave and practically skips down the hallway, a spring in her step as she heads for her lesson with Kayla.
I turn and head for the elevators, needing to talk to the boys. As I go, I keep probing the bond with Gray, taking comfort in his bright light inside of me. As long as that light burns, I won’t let my fears get the best of me. But I check the bond often, reassuring myself constantly. Call me obsessive, but that happens when you care about somebody.
I get off the elevator at our floor and head into our suite. Zane is sitting in one of the large, plush chairs, his leg draped languidly over the arm. Elliot is standing at the window, staring out at downtown Meridian. He turns when I enter, and Zane looks up from the book he’s reading. I walk in and drop down onto the couch, a frown pulling at my lips.
“What is it?” Zane asks.
I shake my head. “Just worried about Gray.”
“Me too,” Elliot says, which only adds to my anxiety.
&nb
sp; “He’s fine,” Zane replies, obviously touching the bond.
“He’s alive,” I counter. “That doesn’t necessarily mean he’s fine.”
Zane inclines his head, conceding my point, but he still doesn’t look overly worried. On the one hand, it makes me feel a bit better. Zane’s always been better about being able to read and interpret the connection between us all; he’s put more time and energy into learning about it.
“We’re going after him, right?” Elliot asks. “I mean, we’re not just going to leave him out there on his own.”
“He’s not alone, he’s with Lucas,” Zane corrects him.
“Yeah, I’m not so crazy about that, either.”
“Lucas did save your life, Raven,” Zane notes. “He could have just as easily let you die out there.”
I nod. “Yeah. He did,” I respond. “But I still don’t trust him with Gray.”
“Neither do I,” Elliot chimes in.
Zane shrugs casually. If he has an opinion on Lucas one way or the other, he doesn’t offer it. Not that I find it all that surprising; Zane usually keeps his feelings for other people close to the vest. At least, unless they do something to set him off… and his angry face is usually the last thing they see.
“Anyway,” Elliot continues, “we’re going after Gray, right?”
A frown crosses my lips and I look down at the ground. My heart is telling me yes, to go after him. To throw all caution to the wind and go to him as I know he would come for me. But our bond, unfortunately, doesn’t work like a GPS tracking device. I can track him to a general area, but it’s not a precise location. Finding him without an exact location might still be somewhat difficult and time consuming.
“We can’t just leave him out there alone, guys,” Elliot insists.
“Raven has another mission she has to attend to,” Zane points out. “One that will impact us all. One that can’t be put off.”
I can always count on Zane to be the most pragmatic of us all. He knows what’s at stake with this mission and although I know he doesn’t like the idea of what I’ve been asked to do, he understands how critical it is that Cook be taken off the board.