by Maya Banks
Tyana stole a glance at Eli, who stiffened at Ian’s words. He hadn’t told them that his shifting ability came with birth—a freak aberration in his DNA at conception. And maybe now she understood why. They looked at Eli and Gabe as hope that they too would adapt and survive.
She turned her gaze to Gabe. He was the wildcard. The only one of the entire group who had actually been able to harness his abilities. Why?
He returned her stare with bland indifference.
But the inhibitor worked on him while it hadn’t on Eli. So he wasn’t completely invulnerable.
“Our objective has to be to take Esteban and make him talk,” Eli said, bringing the conversation back to the heart of the matter. “We don’t have room for emotion, rage or revenge.” He looked at Tyana pointedly, and she had an eerie sense of déjà vu, as if Jonah was standing in front of her lecturing her about going off half-cocked. “This is a job. Cut and dried. We go in, extract Esteban from his hidey hole, and then we can address the other issues that concern us and our wellbeing as a team. Understood?”
The others slowly nodded their agreement. Tyana dipped her head in acknowledgement.
Chapter Twenty-Five
It was nearing dusk when they drove into Neu Ulm. Two vehicles drove down the small street toward the house Tits had arranged, lots of useless camera equipment in the back. The more useful equipment like guns and ammo were carefully tucked underneath.
They entered the driveway through a weathered archway covered with ivy. Tyana’s brow rose as she caught sight of the house. She was expecting a cottage. Not a big-ass mini mansion.
It was a two-story stone house covered in the same ivy as the archway. Square and boxy, but more importantly, there was a high fence around the perimeter offering privacy.
Eli parked in the semicircle drive in front of the door, and Gabe pulled in behind him. They all got out, and Tyana reached for her bag after checking to make sure her remaining knives were securely fastened to her person.
She waited for Gabe, Ian and Braden to catch up while Eli headed for the door. They each carried cases or bags.
“Nice digs you got for us, Tyana girl,” Gabe offered with a grin.
She started after Eli with the others trailing behind. Eli opened the door and pulled his pistol. Taking her cue from him, she gripped one of her knives in one hand and reached for her Glock with the other.
Behind her, there was a slight rustle as the others prepared to go in.
They walked into the darkened foyer.
Eli motioned toward the large living room to the right. Tyana stayed close behind him, and when they entered the living room, she flipped her backpack off and dropped it onto one of the chairs.
Eli turned as the others came in behind him. “We need to fan out and make sure the house is secure,” he murmured. “Meet back here in five minutes and we’ll figure out our next move.”
There was no warning for what happened next. Tyana heard Eli grunt, felt Gabe stumble beside her, heard Ian curse and Braden gasp. She whirled, her eyes widening in horror when she saw the multiple darts protruding from the men.
Then she saw Esteban step from the shadows of the dining room, three men with dart guns surrounding him. She yanked up her pistol and prepared to launch her knife with her other hand.
“Nicely done, Miss Berezovsky,” Esteban said as he walked further into the living room.
Beside her, Eli had crumpled to the floor, and he seemed almost paralyzed. But his accusing stare found her. God, he couldn’t think she’d set them up.
And when things couldn’t get any weirder, the front door burst open behind her. She jumped to the side to assess the new threat but froze when she looked into the very angry eyes of Jonah.
Jonah, Mad Dog and Damiano swarmed into the room, assault rifles up. Tyana yanked her pistol back to Esteban.
“What did you do to them?” she demanded.
Jonah stepped in front of her, his gun pointed at Esteban. “You have what you want, Morales. Now we have what we want. I’d say it’s in our best interests to stand down. Or we can shoot each other and shed a lot of blood. Your choice.”
“Take her. She served her purpose,” Esteban said.
Mad Dog grabbed her wrist and Tyana yanked it away. “No! Goddamn it, Jonah, no! You can’t do this!”
Mad Dog yanked Tyana to him and applied enough pressure to her other wrist to make her drop her gun. He knocked her knife out of her hand with the butt of his rifle and then simply threw her over his shoulder and barreled out the front door.
Tyana looked back to see Eli and his men still helpless on the floor, but Eli’s gaze followed her the entire way. Cold rage burned in his dark eyes. Betrayal. Dear God.
Tyana exploded in fury, kicking and flailing at Mad Dog. Jonah backed from the house, his gun still trained on Esteban while Damiano hurried toward the truck that Eli and Tyana had driven to the house.
Mad Dog tried to stuff her into the SUV, and she fought like a deranged woman. She executed a kick to his midsection, knocking him back a foot.
“Damn it, D, hurry up with that shit,” Mad Dog barked out.
Tyana launched herself from the truck, her intention to go in after Eli and the others. Jonah caught her, and she punched him full in the face. His neck snapped back, but he retained his grip on her arm.
In the end, it took the combined efforts of both Mad Dog and Jonah to force her to the ground. Through tears of rage, she saw Damiano approach and then felt the prick of a needle in her arm.
She stared accusingly up at Damiano. “How could you?” she whispered.
“How could I not?” he asked.
The world swayed and blurred around her. She felt herself being lifted and then tossed into the backseat of the SUV. A hot tear slipped down her cheek as her eyes fluttered closed and everything went black.
* * *
Eli lay there, helpless fury blowing through his veins. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t shift. He just lay there like a fucking vegetable as Esteban’s men swarmed around his team.
She’d played him. Played him in the worst way. She’d made him care, and then she’d knifed him in the back.
Because of him and his stupid decision to trust Tyana, his team would likely die. He couldn’t save them this time. He couldn’t even save himself.
A hard boot rammed into his ribs, and he grunted in pain. He felt himself lifted by three men. He was thrown onto the couch, his arms twisted behind him and tied. His feet were bound next.
Gabe, Ian and Braden were receiving similar treatment as they were restrained.
Eli closed his eyes. He hoped to hell it was worth it to Tyana. He hoped whatever she got out of this deal would enable her to sleep at night. If he managed to escape with his life, though, he’d make damn sure she never had another night’s peace.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Tyana climbed back to consciousness, her head aching vilely, and her tongue felt like it was three sizes too big. She blinked to try and bring the room into focus, but she wasn’t having much success.
She heard voices. Jonah. Mad Dog. Damiano. And then she remembered.
“How much of that shit did you give her, D? She’s been out like a fucking light for hours.”
She surged upward and immediately regretted it. The room swam around her, and she had the sudden urge to vomit.
“Whoa, not so fast,” Damiano said as he gripped her shoulder to steady her.
She put a shaky hand to her head. God, it hurt. It pounded as she tried to put together what had gone down.
“How long?” she rasped.
“How long what?” D asked.
“How long have I been out?” How long had Eli and his team been in Esteban’s clutches? Nausea rose in her stomach again.
“Exactly six hours and twenty minutes,” came Jonah’s stony reply.
She rocketed to her feet, shrugging off Damiano’s hand. She weaved, and her knees threatened to buckle, but she remained upright by sheer willpower.
“Where are we?” she demanded. She looked around, her vision clearer now, and answered her own question. “Paris.”
She locked gazes with Jonah. “Why? Why did you do it? Goddamn it, Jonah, how could you do that?”
“Now hold on a minute, baby girl,” Mad Dog began.
“Stand down, Mad Dog,” Jonah said in a controlled voice. “Let her say her piece. Then I’ll say mine.” His eyes glittered with anger, and she knew he was simmering beneath his deceptive calm.
“How could you set me up that way? How could you set up Eli and his team? Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”
Jonah walked forward, his features locked in stone. “One, we didn’t set you up. Two, I don’t give a damn about Eli and his team. Three, you brought this on yourself when you blatantly disregarded a direct order from me to stay your ass on the island.
“What the fuck were you going to do, Ty? What were you thinking confronting Esteban like that? What would have happened if we didn’t show up? I’ll tell you what. He would have killed you.”
She shook her head. “Esteban wouldn’t have known we were there if you hadn’t told him. How did you know?” And then it hit her. “Tits. That son of a bitch.”
“Tits doesn’t owe you any loyalty,” Jonah said coldly. “And we didn’t say jack to Esteban. I don’t even know why the fuck you’re so hot to trot for this guy. Why were you there with Eli and his team? Last I heard you were going after Eli, not changing your loyalties, Ty.”
The pounding in her head was vicious. She closed her eyes and swallowed back the rising nausea.
“Jonah, we don’t need to do this now.” Damiano’s concerned voice filtered through the fog surrounding her. “She’s not well.”
Her eyes flew open again. “No, D, now is precisely when we have to do this. We’re losing time.” She turned her attention back to Jonah. “You know why I went after Eli. What you don’t know is why Esteban wanted him too. He’s the bastard who unleashed the chemical agent on Eli and his team. On Damiano. He’s the reason Damiano is the way he is. It was a goddamn experiment. One that didn’t work out too well. I thought Eli might have answers. He’s stable. I thought his team would be stable like him. I was wrong.”
Jonah held up his hand. “I don’t give a damn about Eli and his team. What I care about is the fact that you could have been killed. You don’t get that. I won’t trade your life for some half-assed scheme to try and save D’s ass.”
“You’re not listening to me,” she said in frustration. “You stood there and handed Eli and his men over to Esteban. I went to Germany with Eli and his men because we were going after Esteban. We were going to take him down and make him talk. He created the chemical that turned them into shifters. If nothing else, we could have gained access to the chemical, had it broken down and analyzed, and maybe we could have come up with a way to help them and D. But you sold us out to Esteban. Goddamn it, Jonah, why?”
“I had nothing to do with why Esteban was there,” Jonah said icily. “Tits told me where you were going to be and when. We went there to extract you and to remove Eli as a threat to you. I wasn’t about to have a goddamn showdown with Esteban and risk the lives of my team for Eli Chance.”
She rubbed her eyes wearily. “Then how did he know? God, how could he have known?” She let out a shaky breath. “They think I betrayed them. They think I sold them out to Esteban. They trusted me.”
“Why should you care?” Jonah asked with a raised brow.
“You didn’t see them,” she said softly. “The brothers, Ian and Braden? They’re not stable like Eli and Gabe. They’re like D. They can’t control their shifts. Eli and Gabe, their stability is unexplained.” She wouldn’t betray Eli’s secret. Not even now.
She glanced back into Jonah’s eyes and saw the resolve simmering there. No way she’d ever budge him. And she knew what she had to do.
“I quit,” she said.
“What?” Mad Dog’s outburst rang out over the room.
“Care to repeat that?” Jonah said.
“I quit Falcon. You’re right. I compromised the team, and I’ve obviously lost all objectivity. I’m out effective immediately.”
“Ty, no,” Damiano said as he walked up behind her and put his hands over her shoulders.
She turned and wrapped her arms around him, holding him tight. “I love you, D,” she whispered. “But this is something I have to do.”
She pulled back and started to walk away but Jonah caught her arm in his strong grip. Then he reached out with his other hand to cup her chin. He forced her to meet his gaze.
“Why?”
She looked away.
“Look at me. For once be straight with me, goddamn it. You tell me why you’re quitting, and you tell me what the fuck you’re planning even now. Because if you think I’m just going to let you walk out like that, you’ve lost what little of your mind you have left. We’re family, Ty. And you don’t quit family.”
“I’m going after Eli and the others. I have to try and save them.”
Curses blistered her ears from three sides.
“I can understand why you’d go against me for D,” Jonah said. “I do not understand why you’d quit Falcon and leave this family for Eli and his team.”
Tears shimmered like glass, and she bit the inside of her cheek, drawing blood, to staunch her reaction to Jonah’s words.
“Jesus H. Christ. You’re in love with him,” Mad Dog said, an edge of horror to his voice.
She whipped around to glare at Mad Dog. “This has nothing to do with love and everything to do with keeping my word. With not betraying men who tried to help me. Love has no place in this conversation. This is about doing what’s right. I won’t let that bastard experiment on them. I won’t let him torture them before he decides he no longer has a use for them and kills them.”
Jonah turned her to face him, gently this time, his thumb brushing against the moisture at the rim of her eye.
“Look at me, Ty,” he said softly. “Eli has been different from the beginning. Everyone here knows it. It’s why we’ve worried about you so damn much. We could see how much he affected you. I didn’t want him anywhere near you. Now you look at me. Straight in the eye. And you tell me that love has nothing to do with you being willing to turn your back on your family and walk out of Falcon.”
A tear trickled down, butting into Jonah’s hand.
“I don’t know,” she whispered. “I only know I can’t live with myself if he dies. He hates me now anyway. He thinks I betrayed him. I saw the look in his eyes. I can live with that as long as I can save him now.”
Damiano moved to stand beside Tyana. He slid a hand over her shoulder and squeezed. “If you love him, Ty, then that’s enough for me. I’ll help you. You don’t have to do this alone.”
“You can’t,” she protested.
“Shut up,” Jonah bit out. “You don’t get to make the rules. I’m still the leader of Falcon and of this family. You’re not going in to save Eli alone. We go as a team or no one goes. Understand? Are you going to listen this time or do I have to sedate your ass again and tie you to the bed?”
She threw her arms around Jonah, who stumbled back in surprise.
“Good grief,” he muttered. “Can’t you fall in love without getting so goddamn mushy?”
But his arms came around her tight and hugged her close to his much larger body. She could feel the racing of his heart, the jerky intake of his breath. He’d been afraid for her.
“I love you,” she whispered so only he could hear. “And I’m sorry.”
He squeezed her then released her, stepping away as he regained his composure.
She bumped into Mad Dog who put a hand at her back.
“Don’t ever pull a dumbass stunt like saying you quit,” he said gruffly.
She turned and looked into his eyes. There was love there. Yeah, she knew without a doubt both he and Jonah had been pissed enough to wring her neck, but they loved her. They were
right. They were family.
She reached out and took his hand and pulled it up to her chest.
“Don’t even say it,” Mad Dog said with a shake of his head. “We’ve got a rescue to plan, and we don’t need a freaking eye watering contest.”
“I love you,” she said sincerely.
He rolled his eyes and yanked her into his arms. “Don’t ever scare me like that again, Ty. We’re a team. We’re a family. We work together. Always.”
She nodded against his chest. “Yeah, I get it.” And she did.
She pulled away and smiled over at D who was watching the mush fest with an amused expression. “How are you?” she asked. “Really.”
He shrugged. “I’m making it. If I keep a light dose of the sedative in my system all the time and take a larger dose when I go to bed, it seems to keep me calm, and I don’t have the urge to shift like I did before.”
She glanced over at Jonah. “I gave Ian and Braden the inhibitor. It works on them. For now. I promised if you guys didn’t toss me out of Falcon I’d have Marcus examine them and see if he could offer any help.”
“They have to be alive for that, and the longer we sit here yapping and getting in touch with our feelings, the less likely it will be that they stay that way. If they aren’t already dead.”
She shuddered. “They have to be. I won’t let them down.”
“Stop taking the goddamn world on your shoulders, Ty,” Mad Dog growled.
“Enough already,” Jonah said, holding his hand up to stop the bickering that was about to ensue. “I’ve got to gather our secondary. D, you need to get me intel on the most likely location of Esteban and then verify it. Mad Dog, you’re in charge of weapons.”
Then he turned to Tyana. “I don’t want you to take this the wrong way, but you look like shit. Get some rest. We’ll figure this out. If you aren’t up to snuff by go time, then your ass will stay here, so bear that in mind as you argue with me about resting.”
She laughed. Relief made her lightheaded. This was her team. Her family. She had complete faith in their ability to find Eli. And rest sounded pretty good to her aching head.