Chasing Victory (The Winters Sisters)

by Joanne Jaytanie

  He laughed. “It’s nice to know that I’m good for something.”

  “You make a good assistant too,” she giggled.

  “Come on. We need to get back before Max sends out a search party.”

  * * *

  Victory had been brilliant in her report to Braxton. If Tristan didn’t know different he would have believed her entire report.

  “So, I know that the human DNA I was working with today was from a different person. To glean any real additional information, it would be extremely beneficial for me to study this individual directly,” Victory said, finishing out her hour-long report. She only hoped she sold her story to Braxton.

  Braxton sat quietly, elbows on the arm of his chair, fingers steepled together. The room was shrouded in absolute silence. Victory could hear the pace of each individual’s breath, entering and exiting their lungs. A tiny sheen of moisture gathered on her upper lip. This was it, Braxton knew she had lied to him.

  “Intriguing,” he finally said after what seemed like hours. “It seems you have moved forward with your findings, I am pleased. However, it looks like you and your assistant may be our guests on the island for longer than we initially thought.” He looked from Tristan to Victory. “I hope that I’m not keeping you from anything important,” he said directly to Tristan.

  “Nope, I’m good; wherever the doc goes I go,” Tristan answered. “Besides, this place is great.”

  “Max. See that Ms. Winters has access to our other specimen starting tomorrow.” Braxton rose and started for the door. “Oh and Ms. Winters, I would like a complete report of all your findings and conclusions on both specimens by the end of this week.” He left the building, Max hot on his heels.

  “Specimens.” Victory was furious. “They’re people and they have lives and names. The nerve of that man, who does he think he is?”

  “Take it easy Victory. Right now he’s the one holding all the cards, but it won’t be that way much longer,” Tristan whispered.

  “If he thinks I’m staying one day longer than three weeks, he’s got another thing coming,” Victory spat.

  Tristan laughed in her mind. The feel of it warmed her whole body. “You sure are a wildcat,” he said.

  She glanced at Tristan, her cheeks flushed with color.

  * * *

  Victory and Tristan walked into the lab early the next morning to find Max already sitting in his usual chair.

  “Morning Max,” Victory said.

  She and Tristan thoroughly enjoyed a night filled with breathtaking lovemaking that lasted into the wee hours of the morning. The worries of the day faded away, if only for that short span of time, but at least her mood remained lighthearted. Tristan was becoming her anchor amongst all this chaos. She realized she was growing to trust him, as a friend. She wasn’t sure that having a sexual connection to him was the best idea, and she was positive that falling in love with him would be a terrible mistake. She knew to her very soul that he was not the type of man to love. He was a warrior at heart. The thrill of the mission was what warmed his blood. Tristan would not be fulfilled having a family and a nine to five job. What was she thinking, deep down she still didn’t completely trust his motives.

  “Collin is in the exam room, like you requested,” Max said.

  Victory looked up into the exam room window to see a large man, with light blue eyes, light brown hair, and a grim expression. His arms and legs were strapped tightly to the chair, although he still thrashed trying to free himself.

  “He’s upset this morning. Mr. Braxton brought a couple new tracking chips with him. Both Collin and Morgan got chipped this morning,” he said with a callous attitude.

  “So, he’s not usually this upset then?” Victory asked.

  “Nope, he’s been pretty much pissed about everything since he got that shot of serum,” Max said.

  “Great,” Tristan responded.

  “I can call the doctor in to give him a sedative. I would have already done that except that I didn’t want you yelling at me ‘cause I did,” Max said.

  “I don’t know Victory; maybe we should let them give him something to take the edge off. This guy is super pissed. I don’t want him hurting you,” Tristan said.

  “If he’s sedated, the testing could be tainted, and he wouldn’t be coherent enough to talk. No, I don’t want him sedated. I need some time with him,” Victory said.

  “Your funeral,” Max commented with a slight laugh.

  “Hey, that’s not funny,” Tristan shot back.

  “Chill out. All I’m saying is watch yourself. Morgan’s a pussycat compared to his friend Collin. I’m going to go get some coffee. I got two guys at the door if you need them,” Max said as he got up and tossed his magazine in the chair he was previously occupying.

  “What–you are going to leave us here alone with him?” Victory threw back sarcastically.

  He continued toward the door. “Yup. Mr. Braxton said to give you free rein.” Max closed the door and left Tristan and Victory alone looking at Collin.

  “Okay, I might as well get started,” Victory said. She pulled open a draw finding a syringe, a couple of vials and her rubber band. She stuck everything in her pocket. “First I have to establish some trust with Collin.” She headed for the exam room, Tristan was right behind her. She turned around to look at him. “You know the drill Tristan. I need-”

  “Don’t even start. I’m coming in. I really don’t like this.”

  “What. All I wanted to say is to please give me some space,” she responded with a smile, not wanting to push the issue, as she could tell that he was on edge.

  “Yeah, right,” Tristan shot back.

  As Victory opened the door they were bombarded by random snippets of that day in the forest and flashes of pure rage. Victory felt dizzy. Tristan reached out to steady her.

  “Victory, are you okay? Maybe we should wait for a while and give him more time to settle down,” he said.

  “I’m fine. I don’t know if he is going to settle down. His mind is in a state of flux, he’s confused, upset, and losing his self-control. His thoughts remind me more of a wild dog than a human.”

  “Great, just what we need, a really big guy with a really bad attitude,” Tristan quipped.

  For a single breath Victory’s mind cleared. She threw up some mental barriers and proceeded forward. Tristan felt Victory withdraw from his mind. He knew what she was doing and although he didn’t like being out of the loop, he realized it was the best for her.

  “Hi Collin. My name is Victory, and this is my assistant, Tristan,” Victory said turning slightly to touch Tristan’s arm.

  Collin stared at them. “I know who you are, and he’s no assistant. I tried to introduce myself to you that day in the forest, remember?” he snapped.

  She stood her ground. “I need to take some blood from you so that I can try and help you.”

  “Yeah, help me,” he snorted. “Come on over here and I’ll show you how you can help me.” He waggled an eyebrow.

  Tristan grabbed her arm as she started to move forward. “Are you crazy, you’re not getting anywhere near him. Let me get the blood.” Tristan held out his hand. Victory hesitated, than thinking better of it she reached in her pocket and pulled out all the supplies.

  As Tristan stepped towards Collin he saw him tense. “Listen Collin, I’m going to get this blood, so we can do it the easy way or the hard way.” Tristan continued on toward him. Reaching the chair he wrapped the band around Collin’s arm and quickly found a vein from which to draw some blood. Tristan took shallow breaths, trying to keep the pungent odor of Collin’s ever increasing adrenaline from overtaking him, the entire time feeling Collin’s body wind tighter and tighter. “There, it wasn’t that bad now was it?”

  “What would you know about bad?” Collin hissed.

  Tristan nearly pushed Victory out of the exam room. “This guy is nasty,” he huffed.

  “It’s not him, it’s the foreign DNA, it has taken hold o
f his system. Couldn’t you feel the wildness in him? I could feel the uproar throughout his entire system; the wolf is trying to seize his actual essence,” Victory declared. “Did you feel it?”

  Tristan admired Victory’s telepathic senses. He had them with his brother Wyatt, and that had been the limit until she came along. Now after a mere two weeks he also had a link with her. Victory could telepathically speak to him and he was able to project feelings to her. She was broadening his telepathic world.

  “If you are referring to the overwhelming adrenaline he was pumping out, then yes. I could feel waves of anger and pain roll off of him.” He responded.

  “Pain, really, hmmm.” She thought to herself.

  “What, are you telling me I felt something that you didn’t?” he asked.

  “I think we complement one another. Each picking up different feelings that complete a whole picture,” she explained.

  “You think. Or I could be reading his face,” Tristan acknowledged, skeptical that he could read a person’s feelings.

  “Give yourself some credit Tristan, you have a gift. Like you said, I’m only an amplifier,” Victory said.

  * * *

  Hours had passed since Victory last looked up from her computer or microscope. “Damn,” she said.

  “Doc, what’s the problem?” Tristan asked.

  “I can’t come up with the right combination to balance out the foreign DNA. I’ve tried over three hundred combinations.” She looked exhausted.

  “You know it’s going to take some time. This isn’t something that is going to happen in a few hours,” he said trying to reassure her.

  “The problem is I’m worried that Collin doesn’t have that much time,” she explained.

  “You’re doing all that you can. We need to call it a night. Go get some dinner and relax,” he said.

  “And tell me, how do you plan to relax?” she asked.

  “I’m sure I can think of something that will work,” Tristan bantered back with a sly smile.

  NINETEEN

  Tristan and Victory were woken by yells coming from the main courtyard.

  “What’s happening, Tristan?” Victory asked bolting upright in bed.

  “I’m not sure. Get dressed,” he said as he gathered his clothes and dressed quickly.

  There was a rapping on the bedroom window. Victory gasped as she pulled the covers up to her chin. “Who’s there?” she whispered.

  “I can’t make them out. There’s too many people milling about to distinguish individual scents. You stay here and let me check it out.” Tristan finished tying his boots and got up from the chair. Without turning on a single light slid out of the bedroom window.

  “Tristan,” someone whispered from the shadows.

  “Morgan, is that you, what’s happening?” he asked not able to clearly see the man hiding in a nearby bush.

  Morgan came out of the shadows. “It’s Collin. He broke out of his room again. Max is organizing teams to track him down. I thought you might be able to help me remove this damn tracker that Max implanted in my leg today.” Morgan grumbled rubbing his upper thigh. “Then I plan on finding Collin and getting the hell out of here.”

  “No, you can’t,” Tristan said.

  “Who the hell’s going to stop me, you?” Morgan shot back.

  “Take a breath Morgan and listen to me for a second. There are more people involved in this predicament than only you two. Victory and I need a couple more days to gather as much information as possible. Then we will have a plan, including removing that tracker, but this is not that time,” Tristan said.

  “Collin might die tonight if one of those idiots shoots him. He’s losing it, he’s not himself at all,” Morgan said.

  “That’s another reason we have to stay. Victory doesn’t have all the research she needs to help Collin. If you guys leave now, Collin will not survive long on the run. He’s going to need help and so will you.”

  “Okay, okay, I see what you’re saying, but what about getting Collin out of the mess he’s in now?” Morgan asked.

  “We’ll get him out. You go back to your room and stay there. Victory and I will take care of Collin,” Tristan assured him.

  Morgan stood there for another second. “I guess I should at least get out of here before one of those imbeciles finally realizes I’m gone and tracks me here.”

  “And go back to your room, please,” Tristan beseeched him.

  “Alright, but you take care of Collin. Don’t make me regret trusting you.” He stepped back into the shadows and disappeared.

  Tristan slid back into the bedroom. He found Victory dressed and sitting in the chair on the far side of the room. “It was Morgan.”

  “I heard everything. Remember? Heightened hearing,” she said as she rose from the chair. “We should get going if we want to be any help to Collin.”

  Damn that woman’s keen hearing. He needed to make sure he kept that in mind in the future. He headed for the door and motioned for her to go through. “We need to locate Max as soon as we possibly can. Between my sense of smell and your blasted ultra-keen hearing that shouldn’t be too hard.”

  The compound was buzzing. People were flooding out of their rooms to see what all the commotion was about. Security teams were going from group to group sending them back into their rooms. Tristan recognized one of Max’s men. “We can save some time. Isn’t that one of Max’s men?” he said pointing at a man working with one of the groups a few yards away.

  “Yes, that’s the guy who was at the front entrance of the lab yesterday while Collin was in the building.”

  Tristan jogged up to the man and grabbed him by the arm. “Hey, I need to speak with Max, where is he?”

  The man turned and focused his attention on Tristan. “You need to go back to your room sir. It’s dangerous to be out right now, Collin has escaped and already attacked one of our men.”

  “I know he’s out. That’s why I need to locate your boss,” Tristan said.

  “Sir, return to your room, this is none of your concern,” the man insisted.

  “It is my concern. Mr. Braxton will be very upset if this hinders Ms. Winter’s research. What’s going on?

  The man scowled at Tristan for another minute, no doubt contemplating whether to believe him or not. “Fine, but if you get into trouble you’re on your own. He took a couple men and headed into the forest. Collin is an idiot, he’s got that damn tracker in him, does he really think he’s going to get away?”

  Tristan turned toward Victory. “Let’s go, I’m sure you heard.” They ran through the compound and headed straight for the forest. After running in the forest for a couple minutes Victory reached out and grabbed Tristan’s arm.

  “Stop Tristan, we don’t have time to run haphazardly. I can’t concentrate on listening when I have blood pumping in my ears.” He stopped, barely breathing hard. Victory put her hands on her knees and took in a deep cleansing breath. She centered herself and listened to the sounds of the forest around her. Tristan followed suit and focused himself. Their surroundings closed in around them as they remained transfixed.

  “That way,” the two said in unison. They took off running knowing that time was against them. Ten minutes later Tristan reached Max with Victory hot on his heels.

  Max whipped around, his gun held at the ready, pointed straight at Tristan’s heart. “Damn it, you’re lucky I didn’t shoot you. What the hell are you two doing here?” he demanded as he lowered his gun.

  “One of your men told us where you were. We are here to help you locate Collin, where is he now?” Tristan persisted.

  “A hundred yards or so up ahead,” Max replied. “Two of my guys are flanking him now. We should have him pinned shortly.”

  “So, what’s your plan?” Tristan asked.

  “He attacked one of my men. He’s getting out of control. I have the authority to take him down,” Max said with steel in his voice.

  “No.” Victory shouted. “You can’t do that. I
need him for my research. It will slow me down immensely if I don’t have him to study. Call Braxton right this minute and ask his if he wants you to kill Collin,” Victory was not about to let them kill Collin.

  Max thought about what Braxton’s reaction would be if he killed Collin. Yes, he had been given the authority, but Braxton might view it as an inability to control the situation. He could be the next one disposed of. “Fine.” He holstered his hand gun and pulled another one from the small of his back. Victory drew her breath in sharply and watched him pull out an even larger gun. “Tranq,” he said. “I’ll take him down with this. You two stay put.” He looked down at the small screen that he held in his other hand. “My guys have started to force Collin back this way.” Max turned his back to them and started walking.

  “What if one of the other guys shoots him?” Victory asked.

  “They won’t unless he attacks them.” Max headed into the thick foliage that hung off the trees.

  Tristan pulled Victory back towards him as she attempted to follow after Max. “No Victory, we’ve done all we can. Now we have to wait and hope everything works out. The last thing I want is for you to get caught in the crossfire in the dark forest.”

  Huddled against Tristan’s warm solid chest she listened intently. She heard the men slinking through the vegetation off to her left. Reaching farther she caught the sounds of a low growl that she suspected was Collin. He was acting like a cornered animal, ready to strike. Then she heard a howl and for a split-second dead silence.

  “You got him sir, he’s down.” She heard one of the men hollering.

  “They got him,” she relayed to Tristan. “Hopefully with the tranquilizer gun not a bullet.”

  “We’ll know in a minute. All we can do is wait.” Tristan was rubbing his hands up and down her arms trying to comfort her.

  Minutes later Max appeared from the overgrowth. “I tranquilized him, got him a split second before he took one of my guys down. The team is getting him ready to take back to the compound. Speaking of which, there’s nothing more to see here, you two need to head back to your rooms.”