Marti opened her mouth but Laurent spoke before she could.
“I told you, you’re not going. You will stay with Gabriel while those of us who are better prepared take care of it. I’ll bring her back to you, safe and sound.”
I heard the promise in his words, and I believed him.
However, he was dead wrong if he thought I was going to stay put.
Nine
A few days later I stomped around a gym that Toshio’s cousin, Alex, had told me was the Chicago Mutts’ new training center. He’d explained their other one had been compromised a few months ago when the Awakened were after Marti.
Yeah, the Awakened. That was something Alex and Gabe had explained to me while Laurent and company were searching for Mia and I was stuck here learning history and self-defense.
Mind blown. And terrified. The psychos who’d taken me from foster care had spoken of reviving their pure blood. Who knew that Voldemort type of shit was real?
I kicked a punching bag to shake off the old waking nightmare sometimes followed into my dreams. Over the last few days, repressed memories had surfaced.
With each jab, I released frustration. With every kick, I focused on how to sneak away to search for Mia. Every time I made contact, I imagined either Laurent’s or Luke’s face in place of the bag.
And my adoptive brother.
Mia’s biological father.
A noise that was half-scream, half-cry tore from my throat. I punched and kicked the bag for so long that I was a heaping, sobbing mess on the floor by the time Gabe put his arms around me.
I hadn’t even heard him come in. Didn’t register at first that someone was holding me.
“Let it out. Let it all go,” he soothed.
I wanted to push him away but no longer had the strength. “I can’t let them take her; they can’t have her. You don’t know what they’re like, what they’ll do, their sick beliefs,” I babbled.
“You can tell me if you want,” he said.
I shook my head, no.
“It’s all right if you don’t want to talk about it. I really can understand more than you think. I wasn’t just introduced to this life. I’ve seen a lot of things in over eighty-five years.”
That got my attention. “Eighty-five?” No way. Early thirties, at most.
“Yep.” He smiled and flexed a well-toned arm. “Not bad for an old codger, eh?”
“You’re joking.”
His smile disappeared. “I’m not. That’s why I can tell you in all seriousness, I know what you’re up against. What we’re all up against. And that’s why Laurent didn’t want you to be more at risk than you already are.”
He must have seen the mutiny in my face because there was a smile in his voice when he said, “You might have noticed he can be a bit over-bearing sometimes.”
I snorted.
“That’s because he cares so much. And if there’s one thing I know for sure about him, it’s that he takes his obligations seriously. He considers all of us his family and would fight to the death for any one of us. And now that you’ve come along—”
I interrupted. “But we’re not family! Just because we might have an ancient ancestor in common or some weird crap like that doesn’t make—”
“To him, it does.”
“Then he needs to get over it.”
Gabe laughed. “I wish. He just gave me a blood transfusion when I was a grown-ass man, and he thinks that puts him in charge of me. You have the joy of actually being related. Good luck with that, kiddo.”
My mouth flopped open and I closed it. I didn’t know what to make of Gabe’s confession. I had several questions but he continued talking before I could ask.
“You have a powerful ally in Laurent. He’s probably the most loyal and astute person I’ve ever met. Mainly because he’s older than dirt, and also has some sort of savior complex going on.”
A small laughed huffed through my chest at the exaggeration. Laurent couldn’t have been more than a year or two older than Gabe.
The rest of what he said though….
“I can see the savior thing now, but not when I first applied for a job with you guys. Where was it then?”
“Oh, that was him saving me from some unknown troublemaker with tattoos and a nose ring.” He tapped my nose, and I half-heartedly swatted him away. It was strange how comfortable I felt sitting there talking with him. Like he was the cool uncle I’d never had.
A wash of longing swept over me. Family. Could I have a real family? Safely get Mia back and stay with these people? It was scary how appealing that sounded. I pushed up from the floor to get away from the feelings that were getting too close.
“He hasn’t seen trouble yet,” I promised.
A long, slow smile crossed Gabe’s face. “Oh, I believe you. I’ll make popcorn for the show. He’s had this coming for a long time.”
* * * * *
That night, I slept surprisingly well. In the morning, it was back to training with Alex, and trying to reach Sara and Phoebe to find out what was going on, only to discover they didn’t know much yet, either. I could sense undercurrents with those two, and was anxious to find out all that had happened in Arizona with them. I had a feeling I’d only received minimal details.
As Alex and I sat across the lunch table, I wondered whether he was upset to have been left behind as well. His cousin Toshio had left; as had Marti, Caleb, Alejandro, Nia, and Cassandra. I asked if it bothered him.
He grinned widely. “Not a bit. I love helping pretty ladies in distress.”
“Then help me get out of this place and on my way to Arizona, where I should be.”
His grin faded. “I wish I could, but it’s really for the best that you stay here and let them handle it. I was down there before and—” He broke off as if he realized he shouldn’t say more.
“And what?” I persisted.
“And it’s best left to the experts.”
“What, you’re not an expert? I thought you were born into the Mutt Resistance or whatever you call it.”
He laughed. “Mutt Resistance. I like it. Or maybe ‘Mutt Mutiny’? Should I make some posters?” He slowly turned his head from side to side. “Which profile is best? I think I’d rock one of those Che Guevara berets.”
Should I kill him now or later?
“Your head’s too big.”
“Ouch! You really know how to hurt a guy.”
“Yeah, I’m a real expert. Not like some pretenders.” I felt a little bad saying that, but I was hoping to dent his ego enough that he might consider either letting me sneak out, or even come with me to prove he was as capable as the others.
He swirled a fry in ketchup. “If you say so.”
“What about dragons? Are there any around I could get to help me?”
Ding! I took a chance and scored a hit. His mouth turned downward, the way I’d seen it whenever Cassandra brought up something about a dragon. Which, frankly, still blew my mind.
“They’re nothing but brute fireballs. No finesse or cleverness at all. Trust me, you’d be better off with someone like me than one of them.”
“Oh, really? I’m not convinced. I mean… dragons.”
“Selfish, lazy turds who only think about themselves and getting laid.”
“So, they’re all male then?”
I laughed at his offended expression. “Kidding! You should’ve seen your face.”
There was one thing I could say about Alex in the short time since I’d met him: he never stayed serious for long. I barely managed to escape the stream of ketchup that flew toward me from the bottle he squeezed.
It was probably bad of me, but I kept pressing my advantage. He was clearly the energetic and restless type, prone to mischief, and liked having fun. Under other circumstances, we’d be best buds, I was sure. But, I needed to get on the road and suspected he was the only one who might be convinced to help me do it.
A little later, we sat on a sofa while he gave me a history lesson on the
Mutts, Sleepers, and Awakened. I thumbed through a book he’d given me and said, “I spoke to Sara earlier. She said she thought Cassandra was going to try to get the dragons to help again.”
His head popped up. “What? Nobody told me that.”
“Well, then I guess you’re being kept in the dark like I am.”
“Did she say if Cass had talked to them already?”
I crossed my toes since he’d see my fingers. “I’m not sure. Sara mentioned something about one named Sun Lu… Sungmu… Can’t remember.”
Liar, liar, pants on fire.
Sara hadn’t actually said a lot about the dragons because our conversation had been cut short by my phone dying. But I remembered the way Alex had acted the day the others left and Marti had mentioned a dragon whose name I truly didn’t recall. He’d looked particularly miffed when Cassandra had asked if anyone had heard from the dragon, so I took a shot in the dark.
“Sun Joo? Cass is talking to Sun Joo?” Alex’s voice rose.
I shrugged and turned back to my book. “That might have been it.”
From the corner of my eye, I saw his lips tighten. Could almost see gears whirling in his head.
He crossed his arms. “Humph. If they’re going back into the caves, they’d be better off with smaller shifters who can maneuver through tight spaces. A little stealth.”
At last, I put down the book I’d been pretending to read. “Who knows? But hey, they’re the experts, right? No need for us to be involved.”
He pushed up from the sofa. “I should ask Gabe what’s going on.”
Oh, crap. “Why? You know the all-powerful leaders are going to keep their secrets. It appears things around here operate on a need-to-know basis.”
He hesitated. “That’s true. But honestly, there’s usually a good reason for that. We have to trust them.”
Darn it. So close.
“Well, you do you,” I said. I walked out of the room, letting him think about my implications.
My gamble paid off. Less than eight hours later, Alex and I were on the road in a borrowed SUV, his innate sense of fun and adventure unable to resist the temptation of an unauthorized road trip.
“Are you sure you disabled the tracker?” I asked again. I’d heard horror stories of the tracking that went on between the Mutts and the Awakened.
He reassured me that he had, but my skin chilled as I thought about how I’d narrowly escaped being tracked, myself.
Part of my education on the Awakened had involved learning how they had infiltrated the healthcare system to type and tag any Mutt children who came through. Since my real parents—whoever they were—had apparently done home birth and home school, I’m guessing they were Mutts who knew the score.
But, the assholes who’d pulled me out of foster care and into their house of horrors had worked at a hospital. After I’d been admitted for a broken arm from my first foster parents, they’d been alerted when my blood work came up positive. Its premium quality apparently excited them. At least, that’s what they told me later, after they’d drugged me and let my “brother” do his “duty” during a fertility rite.
Just reinforcing the purest blood, my dear. No big deal.
I gagged on the bile that lurched into my throat.
“You okay?” Alex asked. “Do we need to stop for something?”
“I’m fine,” I mumbled and grabbed a bottle of water from the console between us. My hands shook slightly as I took a long swig, washing back the nausea.
Alex narrowed his eyes at me, still not convinced I was all right.
Smart guy.
I waved my hand. “I’m fine. Delayed reaction from all the excitement, I guess.”
“If you say so. It’s not too late to turn back.”
I pasted on a bright smile. “Are you kidding? And miss all the adventure?”
I must have been a better actress than I thought because he perked up. Which was a good thing. We’d need to be perky for the long drive ahead.
Since he was at the wheel, I closed my eyes and said a little prayer of thanks that the Family Gerard, who had adopted me, must not have been high on the totem pole as far as Awakened were concerned. They must not have been considered worth watching, as according to Alex, some weren’t.
But the baby… that had been another matter once the Gerards had taken DNA samples to whatever head honcho they’d contacted.
Luckily for me, I’d managed to drug their sleazy son and had escaped while they were out one day, before any trackers could have been planted. I’d managed to evade them until now.
I turned to Alex. “Hey, I just thought of something. Before everyone took off, did anyone mention to you how that Luke guy and the Gerards found me?”
There was still a little twinge when I said Luke’s name. How could I have been so stupid? Thank God for Laurent and the others. If they hadn’t been tapped into the police department… if they hadn’t managed to get me out of there….
Alex pulled me from my dark musings. “Come to think of it, no. What do you think?”
“I don’t know. I know I screwed up staying close to Mia—” My voice broke on her name and he moved one hand off the steering wheel to place it on my arm.
“Don’t do that,” he said. “Don’t blame yourself. If they’re working with higher ups in the Awakened food chain, it’s a miracle that you lasted this long. It’s actually a testimony to your survival skills.”
I gave a wobbly smile. “Thanks, but the truth is that it was probably through me wanting to be with her. I wanted to keep her with me always, but it would have been unfair to her. I went through a podunk town’s adoption center and was able to pick the parents myself. I found the kindest, yet most radical people possible.”
My throat tightened when I thought of Greg and Brenda. “They were die-hard conspiracy theorists. They didn’t believe in vaccinations, hospitals, governments. In short, they were perfect. No other agency would allow them to adopt, but this one was radically conservative itself. It was a win-win all the way around.” My laugh held a tinge of bitterness.
“We all agreed to move to the ‘big city’ to blend in until they had saved enough money to move off-grid. I was going to go with them. I think they had started to consider me their other child.” My voice cracked again.
“Allie,” he said softly. “You made the best choice you could under the circumstances. I’m telling you, the Awakened have more resources and power than you could imagine. I wasn’t lying when I said it’s a miracle you lasted this long.”
His words were meant to be comforting but they had the opposite effect. Had I made another mistake and put myself and Alex in danger by leaving the center?
Ten
Twelve hours into our estimated thirty-hour drive, we stopped at a small diner somewhere in Oklahoma. It was just OK, har-har. In the restroom, I fidgeted with the colored contacts and wig Alex had provided before we left. Turns out the Mutts have a number of such items lying about. Including a bandage that made it seem I’d had a nose job in case we passed any face-recognition cameras.
It was something I’d never considered. The more I thought about it, the more I wondered if that’s how the Gerards had caught up with me. According to Alex, the Awakened were behind the camera technology.
I took the wig off to scratch my head then reluctantly put it back on. I couldn’t understand how some people wore them all the time. I’d suggested to Alex we shave my head, but he said it was too close to my current grunge.
Humph.
So, there I was, red-haired and green-eyed, washing my hands in a bathroom that appeared to have the original 1960s wallpaper and tile. It was almost straight out of Mad Men.
Except I was no icy Betty. Or sexy Joan. The rebellious Sally, maybe.
I stopped the silly musings and went to find Alex. Our mission was deadly serious, and it was no time to be distracted. He was charming a middle-aged waitress when I made it back to the table. She’d already noticed his Chicago accent, and h
e was laying it on thick. I rolled my eyes and squeezed across the orange plastic bench, stopping short of the section covered in duct-tape.
“What are we having?” I asked.
The waitress scanned my appearance, giving my nose an extra glance of concern.
I grinned. “Not to worry. Wasn’t him; just my surgeon.”
She blinked then laughed. “Glad to hear it. By the way, hon, he already picked out what he said were your favorites but I can bring something else if you’d like.”
I noted what he’d ordered and said it was fine by me. I wasn’t about to give a server a hard time, especially one who genuinely smiled at me. Solidarity, you know.
Had to hand it to Alex, though. From the friendly way we were being treated, the disguises were working. With all my piercings out, tats covered under high-powered concealer, girly clothes, and long, curly red hair, I looked like a cheerleader recovering from rhinoplasty.
I checked out Alex and grinned. I hadn’t paid too much attention to his disguise when we left Chicago since we had snuck out after dark. His horn-rimmed glasses, fedora, and sweater vest were killing me. I liked his usual all-black better, but he managed to pull off the fusion of cute hipster/hot nerd.
He grinned back and raised his glass of water. “Here’s to grand adventure and kicking ass.”
I clinked my glass against his. “Hear, hear.”
My smile faltered. Now that I had a better idea of what we were up against, the reality of our situation started to settle in. Throughout the drive, I’d stubbornly refused to think of anything other than success, but we were just two twenty-year-olds up against a massive organization.
“We’re not alone,” he reminded me when I mentioned my concern. “Laurent and the others are already on their way, if not there already. In fact, we may be arriving in time to celebrate their victory, rather than see any action.”
He sounded disappointed about that last part.
I had mixed feelings. On the one hand, I’d heard some scary stuff about the Awakened since being at the training center and didn’t feel equipped to deal with them. In spite of years of practicing Wicca and my defense training the past couple of days, my level of power was spotty at best.
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