by Ally Parker
Everyone paused to inhale, and Kenzie immediately rubbed her nose and coughed, wishing she hadn’t drawn in such a big breath. The smell of chemicals burned in her lungs. “What is that?”
Cadence looked toward her. “This is the syringe Jaxx found in Lucas’s home. Lucas confirmed they shot him with several of these.”
Saint broke the chorus of curses sounding around the room. “Can you tell us anything about it?”
Lips flattening, Cadence shook her head. “It’s too soon. I can only tell you what you already know; if you get shot with it, get the hell out of there. We know it can affect weres; not sure about shifters. I’ll do what I can from here, but I’ll probably have to send the sample to the council for more comprehensive tests.”
“You heard the lady, no getting shot.” Saint kicked his chin toward the dart. “If you do, hightail it outta there or send out a mental SOS and I’ll come to you.”
Reality hit Kenzie in the chest, and she looked around at the men standing around the room, realizing each of them was risking his life for her. It was her sister, her problem, and yet each and every one of them was prepared to fight to save Ava. Multiple feelings clogged her throat, and she bit her lip to stop it from trembling. How could people she barely knew risk so much for her?
“Because you’re a part of Shadow Moon, a part of our family, Kenzie.” Jaxx’s soft words floated into her mind.
Her breathing stalled, and she froze. “That was a private thought.” She threw up mental barricades blocking him out. Her thoughts were her own, damn it.
“Your emotions projected through our link. I had to make sure you were okay.”
Hmm. She hadn’t sensed him lurking in her mind. Maybe he was right? Which meant she was letting her guard down around him.
“You all know what you have to do. Get something to eat. We’ll meet back here in twenty to finalize everything.”
Saint’s words pulled her from her thoughts. People filed out of the room, and a heavy hand rested on her shoulder. She glanced up to meet Cade’s glowing gaze. “Good job, cher.”
“Mackenzie, can I have a word with you for a moment?” Saint asked.
She bit her lip and gazed at the empty office. There was nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. “Sure.”
He leaned against the table and offered her a smile she was sure was meant to reassure her. For such a terrifying male, he did that a lot—try to make her feel comfortable.
“How are you settling in?”
She shrugged. “Everyone has been real accommodating.”
He nodded, as if he expected no less. “Have you given any consideration of what will happen to Ava when we find her?”
“What do you mean?” Kenzie frowned and crossed her arms.
His gaze bored into hers, and she sensed him assessing her every move.
“Ava is packless. More than likely traumatized from abuse, she might not accept my sanction as you have.”
Thinking back to the ultimatum Saint had given her, the ball dropped. She straightened. “You’re saying the council might relocate her or she’ll be moved to yet another prison in Wolfden?”
Saint’s lips thinned, and he inclined his head. Her sister might struggle, but she’d come around. There wasn’t another choice. “Ava will stay with me.”
“I’m not saying she won’t. You just need to consider she might be damaged by this and need a little time. Time that the council will not grant.”
“I need to get back to Jaxx.” She couldn’t think of those possibilities right then; there was already too much going on in her head.
Saint leaned closer. “Just know when the time comes, I won’t force her to stay.”
Even though a part of her desperately wanted Saint to be that man, from what she knew already, he would offer the terms and leave it to Ava. Feeling like a schmuck for even considering stealing more of Ava’s free will, she nodded and turned, heading back to Jaxx.
It wasn’t running away. She really did need to check on him and get him some food. Making her way toward medical, her thoughts circled Saint’s questions. Ava had been through so much. After all, Kenzie had been responsible for any punishments Ava suffered. If Kenzie disobeyed, Ava got hurt. If Kenzie didn’t perform well, Ava got hurt. They both had been robbed of so many years, all because of one bad decision she had made to break into that building.
One thing was for sure; Ava would not survive exchanging one prison for another. Blowing out a breath, she forced her mind to bench those worries. First, they had to get to the warehouse, and, second, find out if Ava was still there. The smell of meat tickled her senses. Nostrils widening, she turned back and saw Cadence come into view carrying a tray with a mountain of steaks stacked on top.
Kenzie arched a brow. “Shifters sure have some appetite.”
Cadence chuckled and flicked a strawberry-blond curl out of her face. “Actually, these are for your mate.”
“All of them?”
The female nodded. “Yep, he should be feeling fine after he devours these.”
Kenzie held out her hands. “Here, let me take that. I know you have your hands full at the moment with Hunter and the unknown substance.”
“I won’t argue there. Are you sure? I do need to get back to the lab and help Seb.”
It was the least she could do. The poor thing must be exhausted. “Go. I’ve got this.”
Cadence placed the tray in her hands and hooked a right, delving deeper into the den’s network of tunnels. Kenzie made her way back to medical, a bizarre flutter filling her stomach. Was she excited to see Jaxx? She nudged medical’s doors open with her hip and entered.
“Kenzie, come here,” Jaxx said as soon as she cleared the doorway.
Rounding the corner, she saw Jaxx propped up in the bed with a laptop on a table. He glanced up and smiled, his eyes lighting up. She walked farther into the room, holding enough steak to feed a small-sized family. “I brought you a light snack.”
He barely acknowledged the food, waving her closer. “Come and see.”
Whatever it was, it sure must have been important. She walked over and set the tray on his lap. “What is… ”
She glanced at the screen and her words cut off. Ava huddled in a corner of a cell, all alone and completely naked. “Is that… Is that Ava?”
Her teeth ground together. They’d left her cold and naked, huddled in a room like some kind of animal.
“Seb just got the feed up. I was about to let you know.” His hand rested in between her shoulder blades. “This is good, Kenzie.”
He was right. Now they had confirmation that she was there. The mission would go forward, and by night’s end, Ava would be free. Heart pounding with excitement, energy skipped through her body. She looked up and came face to face with the driving force behind it all. Jaxx.
Her hand snaked up, cradling Jaxx’s cheek, and without much thought, she closed the gap. Their lips met, and she poured all the things she couldn’t say—wasn’t ready to admit—into the kiss. His soft lips and the powerful motion of his tongue sent tingles through her body. Sliding her hand higher, she scraped her nails lightly over his scalp. He reached up and cupped her neck, angling her head to deepen the kiss.
“God, I love everything about you. You are everything to me.”
His voice, a dark whisper in her mind, sent shivers over her skin. Pulling from the kiss, she drew in much-needed air and met his gaze. It seemed every time she looked at Jaxx, she wanted him more, cared for him more. Her instincts on Jaxx had been right. He was dangerous. And he was breaking through the barricades around her heart. “You should eat.”
Movement from the laptop caught her eye. She glanced up as Doctor LeRoy walked into the room. Kenzie’s hand shot out and grabbed Jaxx’s bicep. “Do you have any audio?”
Jaxx tapped on the keyboard. A moment later her sister’s voice came through the speakers. “What do you want?”
Walking directly in front of the camera, the doctor fiddled with something out
of view and said, “We need to talk.”
Then nothing but snow danced across the screen.
20
Panic raced along their mating connection; Jaxx felt the emotion down to his toes.
“What the hell?” Kenzie cursed. “What happened? Did we lose the connection?”
Jaxx’s fingers flew across the keyboard, and he brought up the next camera feed. An empty stairwell in crystal-clear clarity came into the screen.
Interesting. What is the doctor up to? “We still have connection. It looks as though the doctor deliberately broke the camera lines.”
Fear blanketed Kenzie’s features. “Do you think she knows about our plans?”
Doubtful. They hadn’t even finalized them. “Unless we have a mole, I don’t see how. Seb knows how to hack into places and go unnoticed.”
“Whatever Doctor LeRoy wants can’t be good. I feel like time is running out.”
He tugged her closer, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. “We will find her. The meeting is due soon; let’s get ready, and we’ll go tell the others about this.”
He shared the steaks with Kenzie, and on the last bite shoved the plate aside, getting off the bed. The cold tiles seeped into the soles of his feet as he looked around for his combats.
“Looking for these?”
Kenzie held his boots and a shirt out to him, and he shoved them on. “Come on. We have some planning to do.”
Worry skirted along their bond, and tentatively he reached across it, wrapping his strength around the emotion. His female had been through a lot, and there was much to battle. But she didn’t need to suffer alone.
Around the corner to Saint’s office, Jaxx heard his alpha whispering, “Saul, everything is going according to plan. I will personally meet Annika and escort her to the room that’s been prepared. I can assure you she will be both well-hidden and protected.”
Jaxx cocked an eyebrow. What an odd thing to say. Why would this Annika need refuge within their territory? He cleared his throat as they approached the entrance. Saint ended the call and glanced toward them.
“Good to see you’re up and about. I assume your mate filled you in on our impromptu chat about infiltrating this compound?”
Jaxx nodded. “She did.”
He pulled out a chair for Kenzie to sit on, and he got comfortable next to her. “As you know, Seb hacked into the security network for the warehouse, and we got a visual of Ava.” He reached over and squeezed Kenzie’s hand.
Kenzie’s fingers wrapped snugly around his. “The doctor cut the feed to the room while they ‘had to talk.’ I don’t know if Kali or my disappearance has pushed her endgame, but I’m certain Ava’s safety is in jeopardy.”
Saint scratched his day-old growth. “Hmm, it seems rather reckless. I wonder if their security would be monitoring the feeds and would report back to this William you mentioned.”
“That’s exactly what I’m afraid of.”
Jaxx squeezed her hand. “Kenzie, you have the whole of Shadow Moon behind you. If there is a way to get your sister back, don’t doubt we will.”
Saint leaned back in his chair and tugged back the sleeve of his business shirt, checking the time. “You’ve got an hour until we leave. I’ve sent word to the others. By the time we arrive at the warehouse it will be dusk.”
Jaxx nodded, and both he and Kenzie stood.
“Before you go,” Saint said. “I wanted to let you know the council’s outcome regarding Lucas so we can finally put it to bed.
Poised in place, he fell back into the chair and straightened his spine. Willing to accept the punishment. Jaxx controlled his breathing and prepared himself. “What did they determine?”
“It took some negotiation, but I’ve managed to discredit Ryker’s picture. I exchanged favors so a certain application was back-dated. Ryker is MIA, but the council is looking for him.”
Eyes wide, Jaxx leaned forward, shaking his head. Talk about a one-eighty. It wasn’t too long ago when they were being blackmailed, and now Ryker had the council breathing down his back. “How did that happen?”
Saint offered a small smile. “We are giving asylum to Annika, Saul’s sister. No one is to know she is here, not even the council. In fact, once here, she will be known as Kennedy Stone, and Annika Wolf will be dead.”
“Shit. Do I even want to know?”
Saint shook his head. “The less people know, the better.”
“Understood.”
“Do you need help?” Kenzie asked.
Jaxx smiled. The offer insinuated she would be around to deliver the so-called help. Maybe she’d chose Shadow Moon with her freedom?
Saint eased back into his chair, the leather creaking. “I’m sure it will be a hard adjustment for Annika. She will need as many friends as she can get. Even if she doesn’t realize it.”
“I think I can manage that.”
Jaxx glanced at the clock on the wall and noticed time ticking on. “We better gear up.”
They moved quickly through the tunnels back to their quarters, Kenzie notably silent, their bond closed. He felt naked without it. Since their temporary link, he’d grown accustomed to having Kenzie a thought away. Using his senses, Jaxx could smell the tang of fear in the air. His heart clenched. Females of his kind never fought. It was too risky that they’d die and one fewer male would be saved. It took remarkable effort not to snatch Kenzie back to a cell until Delmac had been demolished.
Kenzie walked over to the bookcase, grabbed her backpack sitting in the corner, and slid into one of the straps. “I’m grabbing a shower.”
As much as he wanted to follow her and help wash away her worries, first he had to make a phone call. “Take as long as you need.”
She disappeared, and he moved toward the phone in the kitchen, dialing Seb’s number. The call was answered on the third ring. “From Saint’s pack call, I gather you witnessed the feed disconnecting in Ava’s cell.”
Jaxx moved closer toward his room, listening to the shower run. Not wanting Kenzie to hear him, he retreated to the kitchen, closed his mental connection, and kept his voice down. “Yeah. I’m guessing the doctor wasn’t wanting to discuss Ava’s release terms.”
Seb snorted, and computer keys clicked in the background. “Look, all I can tell you is that nobody has gone in or out of that room since the doctor went in. As it stands, we are blind and don’t know if Ava is alive or not.”
Not the answers he wanted to hear, but it wasn’t the worst-case scenario, either.
“Thanks, man. I owe you.”
“I’ll call if anything changes.”
Seb ended the call, and Jaxx expelled the air trapped in his lungs. The end of this mission couldn’t come soon enough. To live without fear of becoming a monster, to share his life with the female who meant his every breath, was something he never truly believed would happen. Yes, he’d dreamed of it, wished for it, but to experience it was something else entirely.
Leaving the phone on the counter, he approached the bathroom door and inched it open. Shuddering breaths and sniffles drifted along the foggy air, and he froze. His mate was crying? Jaxx walked into the bathroom, and through the clouded glass, he saw the outline of Kenzie sitting on the bottom of the shower, knees drawn up, hugging her legs.
Shoulders shuddering, she sniffed, “I’m fine.”
Not likely. “You’re not fine.”
Another sob wracked her body. “I just need a minute.”
Her words said one thing, but their connection said another. She needed him. He felt it to the marrow of his bones. Opening the stall door, her head snapped up. “What are you doing?”
Going by her swollen eyes and red nose, he guessed she’d been crying since the water turned on. Walking under the spray, water ran down his back. He crouched down to his female. “I’m going to help.”
She sniffed and looked away. “How? I don’t even know what will make this ache in my chest better.”
Catching her chin with his finger, he
brought her face back to hold his gaze. “By being here. By talking, if you want, or by me holding you. Either way, you won’t be alone. You will never be alone again.”
He knew the soul-aching emptiness that came with being alone, and his mate would never feel like that as long as he drew breath. Kenzie’s shoulders trembled, and he wrapped her in his arms, pulling her into his lap while she sobbed. Stroking her shoulder, he wore her pain as if it was his own, taking it into himself with every tear that fell.
Minutes passed, and Kenzie’s sobs slowed. He would wait for as long as she needed. Heaving out a breath, she picked at her nail. “I’m scared. I’m so scared this will fail. I’m scared Ava will be right there”—she stretched out her hand, only to crush it into a fist—“and I won’t be able to save her. What if I can’t get to her in time?”
Kenzie’s voice wobbled, and he squeezed her tighter. Her fears were legitimate. He wouldn’t lie and tell her it would all be okay. While reality was in their favor, the armed humans outnumbered them. “Little wolf, you’re killing me.” He bowed his head, placing a kiss on her brow.
Her breath trembled. “I… I need to win this. Delmac has stolen so much from us—we deserve our freedom. My worst fear is we’ll get there, and she’ll be gone. And what will I do then? I’ll have no idea how to find her.”
He tucked wet clumps of hair behind her ear and cupped her cheek. “Shhh, let’s deal with one issue at a time.”
Her topaz eyes shone with unshed tears.
“First, we have surprise on our side. They have no idea shifters and weres are about to descend on them, and we’ll use that to our advantage. Seb has been able to connect to their security so we aren’t going in blind, and thanks to you, we have a decent game plan.”
“But what if…”
“Kenzie, if—and that’s a big if—they somehow get your sister out of there, I will hunt by your side until we find Ava, I vow it to you.”
Leaning into his palm, she held his gaze and kissed him. A soft, slow brush of the lips. He stilled, savoring the moment. Up until now, their passion had been hot, heady, and out of control. This gift was something else, something he was scared to hope for, a glimpse at what it could be like to be loved by Mackenzie Sutton.