by Susan Illene
“Glad I can inspire such passion in you.”
She took several deep breaths until the golden glow in her eyes faded. “It doesn’t matter. I’ll still get her back and Derrick will become her protector and companion, just as I planned. Wait and see.”
“You can’t really think he’d go along with that.”
Though I didn’t want to believe it, I worried that she did have the power to influence him. Why else would so many sensors who hated supernaturals flock to her side? She had a way of always getting what she wanted—except with me.
“Oh, he will once I’m through with him.” Laying down, she languidly stretched out on the cot.
“We’ll see.” I had to believe she’d never bring Derrick over to her side as long as I kept them apart.
“By the way…” She lifted her head. “How are things going for Nik? No rebellions yet, I hope.”
Hope my ass.
“He’s doing fine,” I said through gritted teeth.
“Are you sure? It sounded to me like the werewolves are getting rather impatient with his leadership skills. Not that I could blame them. Who lets their territory fall to their enemies twice?” She put a hand to her cheek. “I don’t believe I’ve ever seen it happen with anyone else in all my centuries on earth.”
I resisted the urge to step closer. “Maybe I’ll suggest to Lucas we move your prison to the bottom of a volcano. Which do you think lava would melt first—you or your shackles?”
She stared up at the ceiling. “No matter what you do, Melena Sanders, I will always be one step ahead of you. My time in this cage will not last and I will talk to that werewolf. Mark my words.”
She closed her eyes. Trying to talk to Zoe any longer would be a waste of time. I headed for the stairs, flicking the light switch on the way out. Let her stew in the dark.
Kerbasi was waiting for me up top. He couldn’t get past the wards like I could, but I was sure he’d listened in on us.
“She’s a challenge, is she not?” he asked, falling into step beside me.
“You could say that,” I replied.
“It is a façade. Peel back the layers and you’ll find a scared little girl. One who has never known love—that emotion you appreciate so much. Zoe uses strategy to protect herself, but it is a flimsy shield that can be broken with the right amount of force.”
“That’s very insightful of you…and surprising you’d share.”
He kept his eyes forward. “I’m feeling generous. I’m sure it won’t last.”
Chapter Eleven
I’d just stepped out of the shower when Hunter pulled up to the house. The front door slammed as Emily raced out to greet him. I moved over to my bedroom window while getting dressed and listened closely. One thing I’d learned since I’d started raising a teenager—you could learn a lot more when they didn’t know you could hear them.
“Oh my God, what happened?” Emily asked.
“The alpha showed up to take me out of town,” Hunter replied.
“That asshole. What about your Dad?”
“He agreed with him. Dad would never go against the alpha.”
“But you didn’t let him take you?”
I peeked out the window in time to catch Hunter pulling Emily close. “Hell, no. Told them both where they could shove it. Packed up all my stuff and came straight here.”
Her fingertips grazed his cheek. “Derrick must have been pissed.”
“Let’s just say I’m lucky he let me go.”
I raced down the stairs—now fully dressed—and joined the teenagers outside. As soon as I got close, I saw Hunter had a swollen jaw and a black eye. They might have let him go, but they didn’t make it easy.
“What did they do?” I asked, crossing my arms.
He shrugged and winced. “Just made sure I knew what they thought of my choice.”
Emily stood on her toes and kissed his cheek.
“I’ll get them back for this,” she vowed.
He shook his head at her. “It’s between me and the pack, don’t worry about it.”
“But…”
“Did Derrick say anything about what’s going on?” I interrupted Emily.
Werewolves had their own way of doing things. I didn’t agree with it, but if she wanted to be with one of them she was going to have to learn to deal with it.
“No.” Hunter’s brows furrowed. “They’ve been leaving me out of a lot of stuff lately.”
“How so?”
“I’ve been hearing about secret meetings. The guys at school have been whispering about it, but they don’t say much if they think I’m around.” He spoke in a matter-of-fact tone, but I could sense the hurt underneath.
Emily burrowed in closer to him.
“You didn’t think it was important enough to mention sooner?” I put my hands on my hips.
He met my eyes, unflinching. “It was pack business.”
Derrick had given me that line more than once.
“Are you going to keep hiding things from me, Hunter?”
“Not anymore. The alpha made me pick sides and I chose Emily’s.” He gave her a fierce look. “No one’s coming between us again.”
I hadn’t wanted to push Hunter, especially under the circumstances, but I had to check him out first. The last thing we needed was a spy in our midst. He spoke the truth and I believed he’d do anything for Emily, but I still planned to keep a close eye on him. Derrick’s power over his pack members was strong.
“Fine. You can stay here, but…” I pointed a finger at him, “if I find out you’ve hidden anything from me you’re on your own. Got it?”
He nodded his head.
“Good. Now let’s get your stuff inside.”
He popped the trunk and we grabbed all his bags. We were carrying them toward the house when Kerbasi came around to the front yard. As soon as he saw us his expression turned to one of annoyance.
“You can’t mean to let that little whelp stay here?” the guardian asked incredulously.
“That’s exactly what I mean to do,” I said as he followed us inside. I directed the kids to put anything Hunter didn’t immediately need in the storage closet under the stairs.
“He’s not sleeping with me,” Kerbasi announced.
“I wouldn’t make a cockroach sleep with you, guardian.”
He screwed up his face. “A cockroach would be more pleasant than you, sensor.”
“He’s sleeping on the couch. Stop worrying about it.”
“Why does the mutt get to stay in the house when I’m forced to live in that miserable shed out back?” The guardian gave me an outraged look.
I smiled at him. “Because the mutt is more civilized than you’ll ever be.”
“You wouldn’t know…”
“Get in the Jeep,” I interrupted, pointing at the front door. “I’ll meet you there in a minute.”
He muttered something about me being a tyrant and him being oppressed before he left. Then something about the Declaration of Independence. I made a mental note to not let him watch the History channel anymore. He got way too many ideas from it.
I turned my attention to the two teenagers. “I’m going to get some pizza for us. You two finish getting Hunter’s things put away and don’t get into any trouble while I’m gone.”
Emily gave me a grateful look. “Thanks for letting him stay, Mel.”
“This is just temporary until things settle down. Don’t get too comfortable with him staying here,” I warned.
It was better to spell it out for her now than to let her think this could become permanent. I just didn’t want the kid out on the streets alone with a pack running around that might hurt him.
Some of the happiness in her eyes dimmed. “Okay.”
I grabbed my purse and keys. Kerbasi was waiting inside the Jeep when I reached it. I settled into the driver’s seat and started the vehicle.
“That was rather cooperative of you.” I glanced at him.
“You said we w
ere going for pizza.” He checked his seatbelt. “I had no desire to ruin any chance of eating food you hadn’t cooked. That spaghetti you forced me to eat has done something horrible to my bowels.”
I didn’t bother to reply and instead pulled the Jeep out onto the highway. We needed to head toward Fairbanks to get the pizza. That’s what I got for living so far out of town. We hadn’t gone more than a few miles before I saw a familiar car on the side of the road.
Steam billowed from the open hood where Cori paced in front of it, wearing blue jeans and a blue t-shirt. As usual, the tattoo artist’s dark hair was pulled back in a ponytail. I pulled over and ordered Kerbasi to stay inside. He just grunted at me.
“Stupid piece of shit.” Cori kicked the front fender of the old Buick as I walked up. If she hadn’t been wearing a sturdy pair of black leather boots it might have hurt her toes.
“What happened?” I asked.
“I think the radiator is busted.” Cori scowled at her car.
“Did you call anyone?”
“Yeah.” She pulled up the hem of her shirt, revealing a flat stomach, and rubbed the sweat from her forehead with it. “Got a guy coming to tow it to his shop.”
“I can give you a ride if you want. No point in you waiting around here when it’s getting dark.” Her place would be out of my way, but the kids could wait a little longer for pizza.
“That’d be great.” She gave me a relieved look before dropping the hood of her car down. “My guy said it might be awhile. I’ll just call him and let him know I’ll be gone when he gets here.”
Cori grabbed a bag from her car, locked it up, and walked back to the Jeep with me. She was already on the phone when we settled inside. Kerbasi scowled, but didn’t say anything. I pulled out onto the road and headed back in the direction we’d just come from. She’d moved from Fairbanks recently. Her new house was about five miles farther out than mine.
“Everything good?” I asked once Cori finished her call.
“Yeah, he said he’ll haul it to the shop and look at it in the morning. I have a feeling it’s going to cost more than the car’s worth to fix it.” She sighed.
I had to agree. The car looked like it was older than me—probably an early '80s model. Why she’d kept it this long I couldn’t imagine.
“Hey!” She leaned forward and poked her head between the seats. “What’s going on up there?”
We’d just come around a bend in the road. Two official-looking black SUVs were turning onto a drive on the left side of the highway. My senses didn’t pick anything up—indicating humans—but the house they headed toward belonged to some sups I knew.
“That’s Yvonne’s place,” I said, watching them disappear through the trees that lined either side of the drive.
“Yvonne?” Cori asked. “Have I met her?”
“Not that I know of. She’s a mystic, but she doesn’t get out much since she shut down her tarot card reading place.” After the first battle to get Fairbanks back after a witch-vamp had taken control of the city, Yvonne had decided she’d had enough and retired. I didn’t see her often, but I tried to stop by for a visit at least once every couple of months.
Cori snapped her fingers. “Oh, I know who you’re talking about. I used to go by her place sometimes. So she’s legit?”
“Yeah,” I said, catching a glimpse of the road the SUVs had gone down as we passed it.
They’d parked the vehicles in front of the house. Guys wearing bulletproof vests and dark uniforms were piling out with their rifles at the ready. Cori and I cursed at the same time.
“What would they be doing there?” she asked.
“Nothing good. There’s been some Department of Homeland Security guys running around town recently. It could be them, though I don’t know why they’d target these people.”
Yvonne was an older woman who lived with her daughter and grandson. She hadn’t done anything out of the ordinary in a couple of years and the rest of her family avoided public displays of magic. DHS wouldn’t have had a reason to bother them…unless they were branching out into the paranormal and were aware of its existence.
I wouldn’t have guessed it before, but after O’Connell’s visit I was beginning to think the angels were slipping in their duties. Ariel had mentioned they were overworked. Maybe even more issues were escaping their notice than they realized.
I pulled the Jeep off the road about a quarter-mile away from the road to Yvonne’s house.
Kerbasi’s body tensed. “How many delays must we have before we get the pizza?”
Not taking my eyes off the road, I pulled a package of crackers from my purse that had probably been in there for at least a year. “Here. Eat this.”
“You cannot be serious.” He lifted the crackers with his fingertips, staring at the crumpled pieces in abject horror. “I am rather certain poisoning me would be a violation of our contract.”
“Do you want to go back to the bread and water diet you preferred when you first got here?” I lifted my brow. “I could take pizza away from you altogether.”
His jaw tightened and he looked away. “Very well. I’ll wait a little longer.”
“How very generous of you.” I shut the Jeep off and unbuckled my seat belt. “Everyone sit tight. I’m going to check this out and be back as soon as I can.”
“I could go with you,” Cori said, her hazel eyes lighting up. “I’m all for taking on some DHS commandos.”
She would be. There was something very shady about her past, but she had my back every time I needed her so I didn’t care.
“No, they’ve got guns. I don’t want to risk you getting hurt since shit-face here wouldn’t heal you if something went wrong.”
She sat back in her seat. “You’ve got ten minutes, but if you’re not back by then I’m checking on you.”
“I’ll be quick,” I promised.
I got out and went to the back of the Jeep, opening the hatch. There was an emergency winter kit in the vehicle in case Emily and I ever got stuck in a snowstorm. It had hand warmers, blankets, flares, warm clothing, and other useful items in it.
I took out a black ski mask and pulled it over my head, stuffing my hair underneath. On the off-chance I had to get up close, it was best if the guys didn’t get a good look at my face. It had a large oval hole for the eyes, but would cover most of my features.
I pulled on a dark sweater next to go over the white t-shirt I wore. With the temperature dropping, it didn’t feel too heavy. I holstered my gun as well, tucking it under the sweater. It’d only be used as a last resort, but I wanted it with me just in case.
Once satisfied I had everything I needed, I set off through the woods moving as quickly as possible. Not much of the waning sunlight filtered through the trees, but I could see well enough to get around. I barely breathed as I got closer to Yvonne’s house and crouched low when I reached the edge of her lawn.
From behind a tree, I peeked around it. Several men were leading Yvonne and her family out the door of their home, the white vinyl siding still visible in the encroaching darkness. The glow from the porch light illuminated one side of their expressionless faces as they mechanically made their way down the steps. They might have been mystics, but their powers didn’t appear to have done them much good against the agents. All three moved as if they were under some kind of enthrallment.
Yvonne was at the front of the group. Her silver hair hung limply on either side of her face and she wore nothing more than a nightdress and robe to cover her tiny frame. Behind her, two commandos led her daughter.
Diane was short, like her mother—probably around 5'3"—but carried about twenty extra pounds of weight. Only hints of gray showed in the dark brown hair she'd pulled into a bun, despite being well into her forties. She wore her nurse's uniform of light blue scrubs, so she'd either been heading for work or just gotten home.
Her son, Patrick, walked beside her. His short brown hair was wet as if he’d just gotten out of the shower. He must have got
ten dressed in a hurry because his khaki shorts and green t-shirt were wrinkled and dirty like he’d grabbed them straight off the floor.
I caught a glint on his right hand and knew it had to be his father’s oversized gold ring. His mother had given it to him on his fourteenth birthday a little over a year ago and he’d refused to take it off ever since. I couldn’t blame him. If I’d had something from my mother to hold onto I wouldn’t have let go of it either. He’d lost his father to cancer at age seven. From what I’d heard, they’d caught it too late to do anything about it.
The faint tingle of a spell hit me as they got closer. My senses weren’t within close enough range to fully dissect it, but it was definitely the kind that rendered people compliant. How had these DHS guys gotten their hands on something like that—and known how to use it?
The commandos carried some other spelled items with them, as well. I picked up on several that were perfect for an operation like this—all for disabling targets. Yvonne and her family never stood a chance.
They divided the three mystics between the two vehicles. If they took them away I might never find them again. My hands fisted. Yvonne had once helped me save my best friend’s life and if not for her Aniya would be dead now.
Time to return the favor.
Chapter Twelve
My gaze swept the area. The small one-story house sat in the center of a clearing with trees surrounding it in every direction but the road. Having been here before I knew there was a garden and shed in the back, but I couldn’t see either from my vantage point.
My senses couldn’t detect anyone except Yvonne and her family. The commandos were in mission mode and lacked any strong emotions at the moment. With them being human, that was the only way I could have tracked them—even then they’d have to be at close range.
I waited another minute to see if any more guys came from the house. The inside lights had been turned off and the only signs of movement were around the SUVs. They’d put Yvonne in the one closest to me—about thirty feet away. There was nothing but open space between us.