Stacey held her hand over Hugh’s wound. He grimaced in pain, but moved to follow Dasan. Alyona and Radu crept after them.
Dasan opened a door into Shadow and crawled inside, still holding onto Nadezhda’s arm. Hugh pushed Stacey toward the portal. She gripped his wrist as she crawled into the darkness. The cold surrounded her and black mist flowed over her. Stacey shivered as the cold wisps brushed her face.
She could hear Hugh telling Radu to hold onto him as he dragged himself into Shadow. Radu and Alyona followed. Hugh closed the portal and then that shifting feeling came over Stacey. She closed her eyes trying to control a wave of nausea. When she opened them, Dasan dragged Hugh out of Shadow and into the clinic at Isanti, Inc. Nadezhda stood wringing her hands. Stacey crawled after them with Radu pulling Alyona.
Light and then warmth engulfed them. Stacey blinked and then sighed in relief. She’d never get used to the cold in Shadow. She stood and walked over to where Dasan and Dr. Rick had already placed Hugh on a gurney. He reached for her hand.
“You’ve got to stop getting hurt,” Stacey groused. “My heart can’t take it.”
Hugh smiled. That didn’t stop Stacey from noticing the fine lines around his eyes. He was in pain.
“I’ll take that under advisement.”
“Let me get him into surgery. We need to remove the bullet,” Dr. Rick said, pushing the gurney down the hall and pulling Hugh’s hand from hers.
Nadezhda came up and put her arm around Stacey. “I’m sure he’ll be fine.”
“Yeah.” Stacey felt a little lost. She looked across the room to see Radu sit in a chair and pull Alyona onto his lap before brushing his fingers over her cheek.
“Everyone’s okay?” Stacey asked.
“We’re good,” Nadezhda gave her a quick squeeze. “I warned our aunt and uncle to wear all natural clothing.” Stacey nodded.
Dasan walked over and without a word grabbed Nadezhda by the arm. His eyes made a quick survey, checking for injuries, before he pulled her under his shoulder. Nadezhda shook her head and then smiled.
“I’d like to know how Zenith found us. Alyona transported us in with magic, there was no way anyone could follow us.”
Chapter Eleven
“You can see him now,” a nurse said, walking into the waiting room.
Stacey jumped up from her chair and ran past the nurse and down the hallway to where she pointed. She needed to see Hugh. Her chest ached with worry and even with having her sister and aunt by her side, she’d hardly been able to sit still.
Footsteps behind her said the rest of the group followed. Stacey didn’t look back, all she wanted to do was see her man. She opened the door and rushed to the bed. Hugh sat up, leaning against a pillow. He looked a little pale, but over all seemed well. His shoulder was wrapped with gauze and tape.
He blinked his eyes and reached for Stacey’s hand. “Hey, beautiful. Don’t look so worried. I’m fine. Doctor Rick said nothing vital was hit, though I might not be able to carry you around for a while.” Hugh winked.
The terrible ache eased and Stacey leaned over and kissed him. “You’re such a man. I guess I’ll have to carry you around. I’m glad you’re all right because we might have a problem. No one can figure out how Zenith knew we were meeting at the bar. Dasan went upstairs to talk to Raven and Charlie. They’re trying to figure out what happened.”
“We also need to get you and Nadezhda linked to your ring and mate. Do you feel well enough to go somewhere in nature to perform the ceremony?” Alyona asked from the doorway.
“Does it have to be done right now?” Stacey asked.
“I’m afraid so. Your aura is already getting stronger. Have you had anything unusual happen?” Alyona replied.
Stacey nodded, remembering the flames running up her arms.
“Then we should do this as soon as possible.”
“We’ll have to find Dasan,” Nadezhda said, walking up to stand next to Stacey. “What else do you need for the ceremony?”
“Well, if we had time we could have planned something beautiful and symbolic, more like a wedding ceremony, only with magic.” Alyona glanced up at Radu, who followed her into the room. “To tell you the truth, all we really need are the four of you and a wide-open space where we can stand barefoot against the earth. That will help ground our energy into the Earth.”
“It might be a little chilly outside, but there is a space here behind the building we could use. It’s been used for wedding ceremonies in the past,” Hugh said. “I’ll need to fetch a clean shirt. We left our jackets at the bar.”
“They’re here. One of your men brought them in. He reported that the shooters at the bar escaped. They ran as soon as we left. No one was badly injured, though the bar will need repairs,” Stacey said.
Hugh nodded. “I’m sure the tribe will pay for any damages. Can we invite others to the ceremony or is it hush, hush?”
“Who do you want to invite?” Stacey asked.
“Well, the tribe of course. I know some of them are out of the country, but the chief is here, as well as the guys who’ve served in the special operations unit with me, and we can’t forget the women. Cara and the others would have my head if we let this happen without them.”
“You’ve got that right!”
Stacey turned to find Kathy at the door with a vase of flowers. She placed the vase on the counter and walked to the bed.
“We can’t have you getting married without doing it up right.”
“Kathy, this needs to be done quickly, plus we’re on a mission,” Stacey said.
“Don’t give me that. There’s always something going on with this tribe. It’s already getting late. If I get Cara to help me, I can have something arranged for tomorrow afternoon. Is that soon enough?” Kathy looked from Stacey to Alyona. “I’m Katherine Darkwood, by the way. Please call me Kathy.” Kathy shook hands with Alyona and Radu.
“I think that will work.” Alyona smiled. “Stacey, you need to let me know if you notice anything else strange happening. As long as you’re feeling all right, we should be able to wait until tomorrow afternoon. If it’s all right with you, I’ll work with Kathy tonight and see what we can accomplish.”
Stacey looked at Nadezhda, who nodded. “It’s fine with me. Kathy, can you arrange a room for my aunt and her husband?”
“Of course. If they come with me now, we can get started.”
“I’ll see you girls tomorrow then. Nadezhda, are you all right staying with Stacey?” Alyona asked.
“Oh, sure. Dasan will be down in a while and then I guess we’d better have a talk about our future. Especially if we’re bonding tomorrow.”
Alyona nodded and followed Kathy from the room with Radu trailing after them.
“You don’t think he’ll back out, do you?” Stacey asked her sister.
Nadezhda blushed. “No, it’s just we don’t know each other at all. Sure there’s chemistry there. The man is gorgeous, but we haven’t found the time to know if we can live together, let alone have a relationship. This ceremony will tie our life forces together. He’ll be stuck with me whether he wants it or not.”
“I don’t think Dasan will have a problem with that,” Hugh said. “But he might have a problem if you bond with him and then disappear again. He’d hunt you down, and once Shadow marks a mate, the Shadow Walker has a sense of where his mate is located. If he wanted to, he could find you, even inside the Shadow dimension.”
“Wow, you never told me that. So when I left before, you knew where I was?” Stacey asked.
“I knew you were on the East Coast. I waited to find you until after I did a little research. That’s how I found out you were really the general’s daughter. He told me about you going to the cabin, so the whole process was much quicker than if I’d tracked you using that special sense.”
Nadezhda shivered and rubbed her arms. “Dasan’s so quiet and strong. I feel so strange when I’m near him. Things I’ve never felt before, girly things. It’s disgus
ting.”
Stacey laughed. “Honey, it’s okay to feel feminine when you’re with the man of your dreams. You don’t have to be strong all the time.”
“I didn’t even know I dreamed of a man, until I met Dasan.” Nadezhda’s eyes flashed with ire and she crossed her arms over her chest.
“That is good. You should only dream of me. Come here, woman,” Dasan said, walking into the room and taking Nadezhda into his arms. She softened against him and put her arms around his waist.
Stacey smiled. Her sister had it bad. Stacey squeezed Hugh’s hand. Of course, so did she. “Do we have to get permission from the doctor for you to leave?”
“Naw, I needed a few minutes to let the anesthesia get out of my system. We can go upstairs and then you can kiss my boo boo.”
“Your boo boo? Is that what you’re calling it now?” Stacey fought to keep a straight face.
“Baby, you can call it whatever you want, as long as you kiss it.” Hugh winked.
Stacey shook her head. “You’re so bad. Come on, handsome. Let’s get you upstairs.”
“Before you go,” Dasan said. “Charlie found some more information about Acta and Zenith. He’d like to see you right away.”
Hugh groaned. “Doesn’t he know I’m injured? Why didn’t he come down?”
Dasan shrugged. “I guess you’ll have to ask him.”
§
All Hugh wanted to do was take Stacey to bed and rest his shoulder. The bullet may have missed everything vital, but it hurt like hell. Hugh hadn’t taken the pain pill the doctor prescribed because he wanted to stay alert, but the pain wore on him.
He slipped his good arm into a shirt and let the other side hang down. Stacey came over and buttoned it up enough that people shouldn’t stare while he walked the halls.
“Are you sure you’re all right?” Stacey asked.
“I’ll be fine. Let’s see what Charlie wants and then we can rest. Okay?”
Stacey nodded. “Okay.”
She took his good hand in hers and kissed his knuckles. He closed his eyes with a sigh, her touch pushing the pain back. Great Spirit, he loved this woman.
“Let’s go before I crash.”
Stacey smiled and led the way out the door. At least the tech department was only one floor away. It would be a quick trip. When they walked in, Charlie was at his computer frowning.
“Hey, Charlie, you want to see me?”
“I want to see both of you. I’ve been going through the files we took from Acta and a name came up. You’re not going to believe who it is. Darren Linden.”
“Wait. Vice-President Darren Linden?” Hugh asked.
“He’s a friend of Dad’s.” Stacey leaned down to look at the computer. “He used to come to our house for dinner when I was little. Are you sure?”
“Yeah, pretty sure. I missed it before because I looked at money coming into Acta to figure out who funded them. Look, Acta sent a payment of $50,000 last month to Linden’s election campaign fund for president in the next election.”
“That’s not a lot of money from a corporation if they want him in the White House. Why would he be getting a payment from Acta?” Hugh asked.
“That’s just it. I don’t think it’s because they want him elected as the next president, they’re not under any kind of United States jurisdiction. He’s not listed on any of their paperwork as an officer of the corporation. I can’t think of any legal reason he’d get a payment like that.”
“You think he’s a member of Zenith?” Stacey’s hands fisted.
“I think he’d be a good person to look into. One other thing, I think Acta has been producing anthrax.”
“What?” Hugh and Stacey asked at the same time.
“They’ve been purchasing V770-NP1-R and aluminum hydroxide Alhydrogel as well as benzethonium chloride and formaldehyde.”
“That means they’ve been making the antidote to the Anthrax infection,” Hugh said.
“Yeah, but they’ve also purchased Bacillus anthracis, the bacterium that causes the anthrax disease,” Charlie pointed out.
“Could they be using it to do research?” Stacey turned to Hugh.
“Not in these amounts. Look.” Charlie pointed to the computer screen.
“So what are you saying? You think Acta is making a bioweapon using anthrax?” Hugh asked.
“That’s exactly what I’m thinking. I know we messed with their facility in Brazil, but they have labs in Sweden and Chile. This is just their financial statement. We don’t know where the items were sent.”
“We need to report this to the chief and figure out our next move,” Hugh said, the ache in his shoulder radiating into his chest. He needed to take that pain pill, dammit.
“Where is Vice-President Linden now?” Stacey paced toward the wall and back.
“He’s in Washington DC. Congress is meeting so he’s been staying in town.”
“And my dad?” She crossed her arms. Hugh knew this was hard for her to hear.
“He’s at his house. We’ve kept a team watching him since you got here.” Charlie ran his hand through his hair. “I’ll call Raven and see what he thinks we should do. We need to get a handle on what Zenith is up to and call Homeland Security.”
“We don’t know the anthrax is going to be used against the United States. Until we do, we’re on our own. Has there been any chatter about an attack?”
“No, but things have quieted down like something is brewing.”
“All right. Report to Raven.” A wave of dizziness swept over Hugh. He grabbed the chair Charlie sat in to stop from falling. “I think I need to lay down.”
Stacey wrapped an arm around his waist. “Let’s get you to bed before you fall on your face. Sorry, Charlie, you’re on your own ‘til Hugh is back on his feet.”
Hugh put his arm over Stacey’s shoulder and let her take him back to the apartment. Truth was, he felt like hell. He’d be lucky to get undressed before hitting the sack, hard.
“I’ve got you,” Stacey said, leading him to the bed. “Lie down. I’ll get your clothes off. Here, take the medicine the doctor gave you.” She handed him the pill and a glass of water.
“I thought we’d be making love tonight. I fantasized about peeling those leather pants off your gorgeous legs and then driving you wild with my mouth.”
Stacey sat him up and removed his shirt. She pressed him back to the pillow and then patted his chest.
“You can dream about it tonight and then maybe tomorrow, if you’re feeling up to it, we can make your dreams come true.”
She tugged the rest of his clothes off before covering him with a blanket.
“Promise?” Hugh asked his words beginning to slur.
“Go to sleep, handsome. I’ll be right beside you when you wake.” Stacey kissed him lightly.
“Better be. Don’t leave me.” Hugh managed to get out, a sudden wave of panic pulling him out of the stupor.
“I’m not going anywhere.” Stacey brushed his hair back off his forehead. “We’re in this together now. Go to sleep. You need to rest.”
§
Stacey stayed close, watching as Hugh’s eyes blinked shut and he finally let sleep claim him. She tucked the covers around his still form before going into the living room. Picking up the phone, she called Charlie.
“Charlie, it’s Stacey. Can you send the recon information on my dad to Hugh’s laptop? I want to see what he’s been up to.”
“Sure can. Is Hugh okay? He looked a little gray.”
“He’s sleeping. He doesn’t know when to quit.”
“Not when you’re in danger. You mean the world to him, Stacey. Don’t hurt him.” Charlie’s tone became increasingly cold.
Stacey sighed. He tried to protect his friend. She understood.
“I’ll try not to. We’re having a bonding ceremony tomorrow afternoon. Katherine is setting it up. The whole tribe is invited.”
“I’ll be there.” Charlie’s voice warmed.
“I�
��ll see you tomorrow then, goodnight.” Stacey hung up and glanced at the door to the bedroom.
Before she allowed herself to cuddle with Hugh, she needed to find out what her father was doing. She couldn’t believe he was one of the bad guys. He’d turned her mother, worked hard to assemble gifted agents, and made his own daughter into one of those assets. He must be working for the good of his country.
Stacey sat at the table and powered up the laptop. She clicked on the folder Charlie sent and began to read.
§
Hugh awoke. Moonlight streamed through the window, lighting the room. He was alone.
“Stacey?” he called, sitting up gingerly. It amazed him how much one used their shoulder muscles without thinking about it. He hurt. He’d need another pain pill if he wanted to get back to sleep.
Hugh frowned when there was no answer. He felt her close, using that sense that came with Shadow choosing her as his mate. Rising from the bed, he went in search of her.
Stacey sat at the table, her head resting on top of a file folder, her blond hair falling around her face. Hugh wanted to scoop her up and take her back to bed, but with his bum shoulder, he wouldn’t be able to carry her. That didn’t stop his body from reacting to the sight of her. He grew hard, his body demanding its mate.
He put his hands on her shoulders needing to touch her. Feeling the tension even in her sleep, he massaged them. Stacey moaned and stretched forward to give him better access.
Frowning, he noticed a difference in strength on his injured side. His shoulder began to ache worse. He slipped Stacey’s hair from her nape and leaned down to kiss her silky skin.
“Wake up, sweetheart. I’m afraid I can’t carry you to bed.”
“How are you feeling? Do you need another pain pill?” Stacey leaned back with a sigh and looked up at him.
Hugh smiled sheepishly. “Yeah, I probably do. I also need you to come to bed. I won’t sleep otherwise and you need to get some rest.”
Stacey yawned and then glanced down at the papers in front of her. “I think my dad is up to something. I’m almost sure he and Linden are meeting next week. I still can’t believe my father is a traitor.”
Trapped In Shadow (Shadow Walker Romance Series Book 4) Page 11