“That would be this – McCoy – and his men?”
She nodded. “Yeah,” she said. “All of the leads I chased led me right back to them.”
I sat back and nodded. If McCoy and his men had taken Emily, that could only mean one thing. I wondered if Olivia understood that.
“You know that if McCoy's crew took her –”
“That she was a shifter,” she finished for me, a note of fear in her voice. “I've been told. But, how is that even possible? Does that mean she was bit? Maybe by this guy she was seeing or something?”
I sighed and ran a hand through over my scalp. “There are two kinds of shifters,” I said. “First, they're natural born. Like me.”
“And the second?”
“There is a ceremony – the Rite of Blood,” I said. “In that ceremony, a human can become a shifter. But no, it's not as simple as just being bit or scratched by a shifter.”
“So, it's possible that maybe she's not one of – that she's not a shifter?”
I looked into her eyes and saw the sadness and pain in them and my heart went out to her. Losing her sister had to be bad enough. But to know that maybe, she wasn't the same anymore had to be even tougher. I didn't have the words that could soothe her aching heart.
“It's possible,” I said. “But the truth of the matter is that if McCoy and his men took her, she's probably either a shifter or they thought she was a shifter.”
She nodded and looked off into the distance. I could tell that she was still trying to wrap her head around everything.
“You know,” she said. “Before Emily went missing and I started searching for her, I had no idea that shifters were even a thing – that you even existed.”
I laughed softly. “You're not the first person to say that.”
“And now that I know, it's like – the world isn't the same anymore,” she said. “It's like everything's been turned upside down. Things I thought I knew, things I believed – I find myself questioning them. I mean, if shifters are real – what else is real? What's not real? I thought I'd seen the scariest things in the world when I was in the Corps. The things I saw in Afghanistan – they don't even really compare. At least, not in the same way.”
I took her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “I know it's scary, Olivia,” I said. “The unknown always is. But we're not all that scary. For the most part, we're just like you. And there are worse things to be than a shifter. Trust me on that.”
She nodded. “That much, I can believe,” she said. “Doing what I do now – I've seen some of the worst in humanity. People can be monsters.”
I nodded. “They can be. Monsters aren't limited to just one species, religious, or political creed,” I said. “Monsters exist everywhere. All we can do is fight them when they rear their heads.”
“If Emily – if she's alive,” Olivia said. “And she's a shifter – am I even going to recognize her anymore?”
I gave her a gentle smile. “She's going to be the same person you knew her to be,” I said. “Who she is on the inside doesn't change.”
A small smile touched her lips and she squeezed my hand back. “I hope so,” she said.
“We're going to do everything we can to get her back,” I said.
Olivia nodded. “Thank you, Luca,” she said. “For everything.”
On impulse, I leaned across the table and gave her a quick, chaste kiss. She smiled and put her hand on my cheek, looking into my eyes for a moment.
“Sorry to interrupt the moment,” Diana said as she put our plates down in front of us. “But time, tide, and heaps of food wait for no man.”
“Perfect timing, actually,” I said, leaning back in my seat. “I'm so hungry, I was about to go make my own breakfast.”
“Right,” Diana scoffed. “Like you could cook half as well as my guys. Way I hear it, you can't cook a Pop-Tart without burning it.”
I shrugged. “That's true.”
Diana laughed and patted me on the shoulder. “Enjoy your breakfast, kids.”
She walked away and I noticed Olivia staring at the food in front of her. “You okay?”
“That's a lot of food,” she said. “If I eat all this, I'll wind up in a coma.”
I laughed. “Yes, it is,” I said. “Eat up, because I want to take you to meet somebody. You can have your coma afterward.”
Chapter Fourteen
“I think I'm going to die,” she groaned.
“I'm impressed,” I replied. “I didn't think there was any way you were going to eat it all.”
She looked at me and groaned again. “And have you thinking I'm a lightweight?”
“I'd rather think you're a lightweight,” I said and grinned at her. “Than have you keel over on me.”
We walked into Asher's office – he and Mariana were already there. They both looked and raised their eyebrows in unison when Olivia walked in behind me. They exchanged a curious look with each other.
Asher flashed me a look, obviously wondering why I'd brought a human – and whether or not she could be trusted. I gave him a small nod to indicate that everything was fine and he seemed to accept that.
“Your friend is gorgeous, Luca,” Mariana said. “And quite obviously has a vision impairment or just a high tolerance for bland personalities.”
“Oh, Mariana,” I said. “So glad to see you back to your old, bitchy self. I was beginning to miss trading barbs with you.”
Mariana stood up and gave me a smile before extending her hand to Olivia. “Mariana,” she said. “It's nice to meet you.”
“Olivia,” she replied, shaking Mariana's hand. “Nice to meet you too. Luca's told me a lot about the both of you.”
“Don't believe half of what he's told you,” Mariana said. “I'm really not that big of a bitch.”
“Yeah, she's recovering,” I said. “The Bitchaholics Anonymous meetings are really paying off for her. She hasn't been a total and complete bitch in what, three or four days now?”
Mariana gave me the finger and laughed before taking her seat. In a way, it felt like old times again between the three of us. Whatever switch had been flipped inside Mariana had done her a world of good. She was starting to regain her confidence and fusing her personality with that of her personality as a clan Chief. I had to admit that I liked this new version of her.
“It's nice to meet you, Olivia,” Asher said, shaking her hand. “I'm Asher.”
“Nice to meet you too,” Olivia said.
Asher sat back down behind his desk and I pulled up a chair for Olivia. We took our seats and a moment of awkward silence descended over all of us. We all exchanged looks and began to laugh at the absurdity of the moment.
“So, how did you two meet?” Mariana asked.
“At Walt's,” she said. “I took him home last night.”
My mouth fell open and I felt my cheeks flush with heat. “Yeah, I wasn't going to be quite that blunt.”
Olivia shrugged. “Why not? We're consenting adults,” she said. “Besides, I can tell by the look on their faces that they already knew.”
“Oh, I like her,” Mariana said. “Can we keep her?”
Asher laughed and shook his head. “Well, I'm glad the two of you – hit it off so well.”
“Tell me about it,” Mariana said. “Luca needed to get laid worse than any man on the planet –”
“Okay,” I said and clapped my hands. “Let's stop discussing that and focus on why Olivia is here with us to begin with.”
The three of them exchanged a bit of laughter, obviously enjoying my discomfort. Bastards. Finally, the laughter died down and the air in the room grew serious. Asher gave me another look and I nodded again, so he turned to Mariana.
“Tell Luca what you were telling me,” he said.
She nodded. “My friend in Seattle ran the dart for us,” she said. “No prints, unfortunately. And the drug that was used –”
“Is a derivative of ketamine,” Olivia jumped in. “Think of it as ketamine on stero
ids. Super steroids.”
Asher looked at her, his eyes widened slightly. “How do you know this?”
Olivia cleared her throat, looking slightly uncomfortable. “Because I was part of the crew taking your people.”
Asher and Mariana both looked from her to me, their eyes wide and flashing with anger. I held up my hand to forestall the outpouring of outrage I was sure was coming.
“Let her explain,” I said. “This will all make sense in a minute.”
Olivia reached over and took my hand – I gave her a reassuring squeeze. She looked to me and swallowed hard before turning back to face the angry glares of my two friends. And then she launched into her story – in even greater detail than she'd told me. She told them about being a Marine, about coming home and becoming a journalist – about her sister and Emily's subsequent disappearance. She told them everything and held nothing back.
I admired Olivia for her strength. It couldn't have been easy for her to come into the lion's den, as it were. But she came in and faced up to what she'd been a part of. She didn't hide from it. Didn't try to mitigate it. She simply told Asher and Mariana what she'd done and why she'd done it.
Almost an hour later, she finished with her story and looked absolutely wrung out. I got up and retrieved bottles of water for us all from the cooler in the corner of Asher's office. I handed one to Olivia who took it with a grateful expression on her face. Handing bottles to Asher and Mariana, I kept one for myself and then took my seat again.
Asher took a drink of his water and nodded. “It all makes sense,” he said. “Thank you for sharing your story with us, Olivia.”
Mariana looked over at her, reaching out, she put her hand on Olivia's shoulder and gave her a reassuring squeeze.
“We'll find out what happened to your sister,” she said. “And if she's in that facility you talked about, we'll get her out. I promise you.”
You could have knocked me over with the proverbial feather. This new Mariana was – amazing. Rare was the time I'd ever seen her be compassionate to anybody, let alone a stranger. A human stranger at that. I caught Mariana's eye and gave her a small, grateful smile.
“But this all begs the question – how are we going to do it?” I asked. “If this facility is the fortress Olivia says it is, we'll all be dead before we ever get inside.”
Asher nodded and ran a hand through his hair. “That's the problem,” he said. “A riddle that needs to be solved.”
“I think I might have a solution,” Olivia said.
“John, the commander of that unit, wants me to join his team,” she said.
We all looked at her as one. “He wants you to work inside the facility?” I asked.
She nodded. “Yeah,” she replied. “Apparently. Part of me was afraid I was being set up, that maybe they'd figured out who I was or something.”
Asher shook his head. “Doubtful,” he replied. “I have a feeling if they'd discovered your real purpose for being there, they would have executed you already.”
She nodded. “That was my thought too,” she said. “My paranoia though, is getting the better of me these days.”
“Yeah, tell me about it,” I muttered and then flashed her a smile.
“You're an ass,” she said.
“He is. And it's better you find that out now,” Mariana said.
Olivia smiled and shook her head as I gave Mariana the finger. It really was feeling like old times again and I couldn't help but feel a wave of nostalgia roll over me.
“Then that's our in,” Asher said. “Olivia goes into the facility and joins this guy – John's – team.”
“Is that a good idea?” I asked, feeling a bit defensive about her. “I mean, the last thing I want is to put her in harm's way. Especially in a fight that's not hers.”
“I appreciate you trying to protect me,” Olivia said. “But I'm not a delicate little flower. I was a Marine. I can take care of myself. And given that they have – or had – Emily, this fight is as much mine as it is yours.”
Mariana smiled wide. “Oh, I really, really like her,” she said. “And we most definitely need to keep her.”
Asher nodded. “Okay, if you're willing,” he said. “We'd like you to join that team. We need intel from the inside before we can plan an attack.”
“Roger that,” she said.
“Don't take any unnecessary chances, Olivia,” Asher said. “And above all, be careful. If you get the slightest vibe that they're on to you, or your cover is blown, you need to get out of there. Immediately.”
“I will.”
I looked over at her, once again, in awe of her strength and courage. She was a remarkable woman. Mariana caught my eye and gave me an approving nod.
I had no idea where things with Olivia were going – if they were going anywhere at all. But in that moment, I vowed to myself that I was going to find out.
Chapter Fifteen
Olivia
“I'm honored to have this opportunity, sir,” I said.
John nodded and gave me a small smile. “Two bronze stars, a purple heart, and a pile of commendation ribbons?” he said. “Sounds like a no-brainer to me. Glad to have you on the team.”
We walked through the warehouse again, this time though, instead of just the nickel tour, he gave me detailed explanations about everything. I soaked it all in, absorbing as much of the information as I could, knowing I needed to be able to pass it along.
“What are these buses?” I asked.
We were standing in the motor pool and he was going over some of our strike vehicles when I noticed four large tour buses. They were plain white, non-descript, and had windows tinted so dark, seeing inside was impossible.
“Oh, those,” he said. “Some of our personnel live in the cities around Black Salmon Falls. The buses transport them from home to the facility and back.”
I nodded, the bare scraps of a plan beginning to form in my head.
“Okay, so that's it for this level – all of the boring stuff,” he said. “Although, I saw your eyes light up a bit when we went through the combat training area.”
“Yes, sir,” I said. “I love training and learning new skills.”
“Good,” he said. “That's very good.”
“May I ask a question, sir?”
He nodded. “Please.”
“What will I be doing?” I asked. “I'm not much of a techie and –”
“You're going to be part of my strike teams,” he said. “If things go well, you're going to be leading one of my strike teams.”
“Strike teams for what, sir?”
“To answer that,” he said, “we're going to have to continue the tour.”
I nodded and followed him toward the wall that housed the elevators to the lower levels. He swiped his badge and the doors slid open. He gestured to allow me to enter first and he followed close behind. Swiping his badge again, he then pressed the button for the bottom floor. The doors slid shut and the elevator moved swiftly downward.
“So, tell me,” John said. “How much do you know about these shifters really?”
“Not much, honestly,” I said. “On McCoy's crew, we simply bagged and tagged them. We left the getting to know you bits to you and your team.”
That much was the truth. Spending a couple of hours with Luca and his friends didn't fill in all of the gaps for me, which meant that there was more I didn't know about shifters than I did know about them.
“Well, prepare yourself,” he said. “You're about to get one hell of an education.”
The doors slid open, revealing a large room beyond. It was sterile and bright white, the overhead fluorescent lights gleaming off almost every surface. I followed him out of the elevator and noticed that the walls on either side of the room were made of a hard plexiglass and had been divided into cages – cages that housed the shifters we'd captured.
Standing just outside the elevator, I saw that four cages – two on either side of me – were currently occupied. One of them,
the last man we'd just brought in. All four of the men locked in those plexiglass cages looked sickly. Their skin was pale, they were covered in sweat, and the bottom of their cages were covered in vomit and other substances I would have preferred not seeing.
Three of the men were sitting huddled in the corner of their cages, looking for all the world like their spirit had been shattered. They sat there, staring hollowly at me like all they were doing was waiting to die. The man we'd most recently brought in still had a little life to him. He pounded his fists against the glass – glass so thick, I couldn't hear him through it. But I could read lips well enough to see that he was calling me some very unflattering names.
I wanted to rush to the other end of the room, to look in the rest of the cages to see if Emily, like those four, was locked in one of those plexiglass boxes. But I knew I had to wait. Be patient. Bide my time. I couldn't look too eager and had to let everything come to me rather than chase it down.
“This is our holding facility,” John said, gesturing to the cages around us. “This is where we keep the monsters locked safely away.”
From where I was standing, the only monster I really saw was John – he seemed to have no care or compassion for the men locked up in those cages.
“What do you do with them?” I asked. “The monsters.”
“Like I told you last time you were here,” he said, “we find ways to kill them. Which means, we have to do a lot of testing on them. And let me tell you, these bastards are hard to kill.”
John laughed as he led me deeper into the room. I looked in all of the cages we passed – most of them were empty. But when we got to the very far end of the room, and I looked in the last cage on the right, I felt my heart stop. I was half-afraid I was going to pass out right then and there.
Sitting huddled in the corner, naked and looking sickly, sat Emily. Her knees were drawn up to her chest and her arms were wrapped around those. Her red hair, long the last time I'd seen her, had been shaved completely off. Her skin was pale and she looked completely malnourished. Her green eyes, once vivid and lively, were dull and lifeless – in a word, she looked defeated. She seemed resigned to her fate – a fate that included her dying in a plastic box.
Saved by a Bear (Legends of Black Salmon Falls Book 2) Page 9