by Marie Harte
God no. Kennedy flinched and reminded herself to pretend she heard nothing. They didn’t know how far her telepathy reached. And she had no intention of telling them she could listen to those close by. She didn’t need to be right next to a person to hear his or her thoughts, as Dr. Lang assumed.
“I agree. Perhaps mating with the team will shut her up. I swear, she’s always on her high horse about one thing or another. We both know scientific progress demands sacrifice.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Perhaps you should talk to her, Duane. Get her to see how much she’s helping us in the name of research.”
“I’d love to, Dr. Lang.”
Lang laughed. “Excellent. If anyone can get our Ms. Knight to show some respect for the work we do, it’s you.” Over the intercom, he said, “Myers, show our guest how quickly she’ll heal from a few superficial wounds.”
Myers smiled. Kennedy balked. She tried to mentally communicate with his beast, but it made no difference. Myers came at her, and knowing she wasn’t yet ready to escape, she let him. She wanted them to think her weaker than she was. Her beast, to her surprise, agreed.
The cuts to her arms and chest hurt but started healing right away. But when Myers tried to gouge out an eye, she retaliated with a claw to his groin.
He howled in pain.
Behind him, Yates laughed. “Fuckhead. Don’t go for the eyes.” He gave Kennedy an assessing look. Then he launched himself at her with incredible speed and shoved her up against the wall, his elbow at her throat, blocking her air.
She gasped, struggling to get free. But the asshole was so strong.
“Good girl. Play for our audience,” Yates whispered. He leaned in and kissed her. The jerk used a lot of tongue before piercing her lips with his fangs. Nothing too rough, considering what she’d expected, though it hurt. But feeling his erection against her belly, smelling the virulent musk of his beast… She wanted to vomit.
He pulled back, breathing hard. One hand went to her breast and squeezed.
When she tried to shove her claws into his dick, he stopped her by crushing her wrist, snapping bones.
The pain made her cry out, but she only managed a whimper, his forearm effectively muting her.
This one we kill slowly. Her beast committed his smell to memory.
Kennedy let herself fall limp. The act he was waiting for, apparently, for as soon as she relaxed, Yates took his arm away and caught her before she could fall. Then the sick bastard cradled her to him and kissed the top of her head.
“She’s good, Dr. Lang. I take it we’re keeping this one?”
“I think so. She’ll make a fine addition to your team.”
Yates beamed. Myers had straightened and, after scowling at her, gave her a mean smile.
“Take her back to her cell, please.”
“Yes, sir.” Yates carried her out of the room and down the hallway, Myers trailing. “Don’t worry, Kennedy. It’ll be good, baby. You’ll learn to like it.”
Instead of leaving her inside her tiny cell, the way he normally did, he and Myers stepped in with her and shut the door behind them. With little space to begin with, the twin bed, small table and chair, and narrow armoire took up most of the room. The pale yellow walls gave the room a gloomy, not cheerful look, the lemon yellow cold, sallow. She didn’t have any windows or a bathroom, just the one door leading to a constantly guarded hallway.
With the men inside, focused on her, she tensed, scared and trying not to show it. Her wrist ached, even as it warmed, the bones healing, the tendons and ligaments readjusting. She cradled her wrist, shocked at the heat now pouring from the joint.
Then an unwelcome scent turned her focus once more to the men in her room. Their thick lust filled the room, and it made her sneeze. She backed away, until she felt the wall behind her.
“You won’t believe how good it feels,” Yates said, his voice low, his arousal clear. To her shock, he dropped his trousers, exposing a thick cock, one shiny with some kind of lubrication. “Myers, come here and bend over.”
Mortified but unable to look away, she watched as Myers eagerly dropped his pants, showcasing an erect, spiked cock—what the hell?—and bent over the lone table she planned to never, ever, sit at again.
“You’re one of us now, Kennedy,” Yates said. “And Circs can only come with another Circ. Our team needs a woman, baby. So bad. See what I have for you?”
She wished she couldn’t see, but from her vantage, she had full access to the pair. Kennedy feared she’d provoke an unwelcome reaction from them if she looked away, so once again she obeyed.
Yates stroked himself before shoving Myers’s feet apart, as wide as they’d go with his jeans around his knees. Both men watched her while Yates shoved inside Myers, who gasped then groaned while Yates fucked him from behind.
She didn’t understand why they felt the need to screw in her room, or why Myers refused to blink, staring at her, as he grew more and more excited. His cock lay over her table, and he ground the stubbed and spiky organ over the rough wood. It had to be uncomfortable, yet he yelled and came all over her table. And he came a lot.
So gross.
He lost it seconds before Yates did. When she saw the rapture on Yates’s face, she knew she’d have a difficult time forgetting it. A sick mix of ecstasy, desire, and a need to hurt his lover. She could hear the echoes of his beast in her mind. Not enough blood. Bite him and gouge him when we fuck again.
“Next time it’s in you, Kennedy.” He withdrew from Myers’ ass and slid his still hard cock back into his pants.
Myers grinned down at himself. “A present for you. Something tasty for you when you get hungry.” Then he did the truly disgusting. He wiped a finger through his semen and licked it. “Yum.”
Yates snickered and zipped up. “There’s plenty more of that to go around. And baby, we’re Circ. We can go for hours.”
Awesome. Hours of being raped by sadistic freaks who loved hearing the word “no.” What a prize.
“But Kennedy, remember,” Myers rumbled. “We’re the nice ones. Be good to us and we’ll protect you from Sheer and the other one.” The horror in his voice scared her all over again. “Trust me. You don’t want Caldane up your fine ass.”
She said nothing, wishing they’d go and leave her alone. Wishing she’d never signed up for the CIA’s secret project. Wishing she could go back and undo all the mistakes she’d made since trusting the wrong people.
The men left, and she sat in the corner, holding her wrist that burned as it healed, aware of the camera that recorded everything she did and said.
Charlie. Charlie, are you okay?
Nothing from her cousin. But maybe that was best. Kennedy needed time to plan their escape, an idea of where the heck they could go that Lang and his millions wouldn’t find them. We’re going to get out of here, Charlie. Soon. Hang on.
Words that gave her little peace as Myers’s scent permeated the room. The memory of the men having sex made her nauseous. Not because two men together disgusted her, but because underlying their sex was an ugly well of violence the pair appreciated. A brutality their beasts wanted, not because it brought pleasure, but because it brought pain.
Oh God. I have to get out of here.
Chapter Four
A FEW DAYS after the majority of the team had arrived outside of Dallas and set up shop in a killer motel, Alex sat next to Bailey in the back of a shiny blue SUV as Eli drove them from the Dallas/Fort Worth International airport to their temporary command center. He found it amusing that though none of them had served a day in the military, Gideon had started acting like the Circs in New Jersey, going all militant and chain of command on their asses.
“I’m sorry I’ve been intrusive,” Bailey was saying. She held his hand on her lap, and he gave it a squeeze. Her pretty, light-brown eyes shone with unshed tears. “I don’t mean to get in your mind, I swear.”
“I know.” He sighed and pillowed her head against his shoulder. Desp
ite the fact Bailey and Gideon had partnered up—mated, as the Circs considered it—she belonged to all of them. The team needed each other to survive. Gideon had claimed Bailey as his own, yet they all had sex with each other when the urge hit, and neither Gideon nor Bailey minded.
Alex didn’t know how he’d feel if he ever found a special partner. Would he be okay sharing her or him? Despite all evidence to the contrary, he wasn’t exactly a group sex type of guy. He’d always figured he’d find the right partner, settle down, and have a family. But now, with being Circ and having Circ needs, that would be impossible.
Truth to tell, though he and Bailey still hooked up, he felt protective of her, knowing deep down she didn’t belong to him, though she belonged with him.
He shook off silly thoughts and patted her shoulder. “It’s okay, Bailey. It’s just… I need to feel mad and sorry sometimes. I have to. Katie deserves that much.”
Just saying her name hurt, and he appreciated that Bailey didn’t take that away from him this time.
“I understand.” She sighed. “Katie was my friend. I know without her help, I might have died.” She paused. “She gave her life so that we could escape. Without her, you would never have been undercover at U-Ground. And if you hadn’t been there, Gideon and the guys might not have escaped either.”
She had a point, as much as he wished he’d never been to U-Ground. He’d arranged for a rescue, involving the Circe’s Recruits team out of New Jersey. Those guys worked with a legitimate branch of the government to police rogue Circs. They now had Dr. Edwin Lang on their radar.
Alex and the guys didn’t feel comfortable working for the law, so they’d decided to branch out doing specialized work themselves. Protection and private security jobs like the kind Alex had been doing for years. It made sense to him. Working with the team felt right.
So as much as he wanted to walk away from it all sometimes, he knew he couldn’t. That he needed…pack.
Bailey squeezed his hand. “Yes, we’re a team, even as weird as it can get. It feels good.”
“Yes.” She must have been picking up on his feeling of togetherness.
“Hey, Alex. You drive.” Eli raised a brow at them in the rearview. “I want to hold the pretty girl’s hand.”
Bailey laughed. “Love you too, Eli.”
Alex sighed. “He’s such a pain in the ass.”
Eli knew it, reveled in it, and thought it his life’s mission to keep everyone on their toes.
They drove toward a tall, upscale hotel in the city. Nothing inconspicuous about this outing. Carter had found them an abandoned place to work from, but Bailey and Gideon had rejected that plan. Better to blend in and work from the city, in the center of things. Personally, Alex thought they just wanted to stay in a nice hotel. But whatever. “Do your stuff,” Eli said as he parked in the garage before they headed up to the suite Carter and Gideon had prepared.
Alex headed out and ran his hands over everything. The elevator, the walls, doors, the carpet in the hallway. Once inside their suite, he touched the fine furnishings, expanded kitchenette and office, the three bedrooms. It took him a while to sift through the thoughts and memories left from the previous tenants: a few actors, CEOs, and moguls intent on doing business.
He learned a few trading tips he’d share with the gang. Other than that, the space hadn’t been tapped or set upon by anyone having anything to do with Lang.
“We’re good,” he said to Gideon, who watched Carter’s nimble fingers dance over the keyboard of his laptop on a huge mahogany desk in the sectioned-off office space. And Carter could type. For such a large man, he had surprising speed.
Gideon nodded. “We’ve narrowed down several options of where we think Lang might have the Level 4s.”
Carter agreed and pointed them to the digital screen on a standing mount, projecting his laptop so everyone could see. A map appeared with several pinpoints marked. “These areas are likely, and we’ve had sightings of what might be rogue Circs near the eastern area as well. I’m tapping into as many sites as I can, but it’s going to take a little while. I figure you guys can eyes-on scout a few possibilities while I narrow down the field.”
Gideon pointed to Bailey. “You’re with me. Carter will be here, working his magic. Eli, Alex. You two ride together. We’re close, and we need to be careful. You see anything, anything at all—” he stared at Alex “—you report back. You don’t go in alone. Understand?”
Gideon didn’t look away from Alex.
“Yeah, fine.” Alex didn’t like being singled out, especially because he didn’t like being read so easily. Damn straight he’d go right in if he thought he could rescue more innocent women from Lang’s clutches.
Eli crossed his arms over his chest and sighed. “I’ll watch him.”
“Right. Because of the two of us, you’re the voice of reason.” Alex snorted.
Carter glanced up from the laptop and cocked his head as he studied them. “Well, he does blend in better.”
Alex frowned. “Seriously?”
“Hey, I look like a gangbanger,” Eli said. “We’re in fuckin’ downtown Dallas. You might fit in at some corporate party, but I’m down and dirty, and that’s where we’ll find Lang and his pricks. Not at some high flying hotel,” he said pointedly to Gideon, who ignored him. “But in the underground. My home away from home.”
Alex had nothing to say to that. He didn’t think he looked upper class at all, but since no one argued with Eli, he figured why bother disagreeing.
So they found themselves driving around the crowded city at night, just the two of them.
“So, ah, you doing better about your sister?” Eli asked.
“I’m okay.”
Eli was silent. They drove a tricked out SUV that fit big men comfortably—no cheap vehicles for Gideon’s team—past city lights and buildings. At ten o’clock the city continued to bustle with activity. Alex preferred a quieter existence, away from people.
“You know, I never had a family,” Eli said, and Alex tuned in. Eli never talked about himself much. “Grew up poor outside of Philly. My dad used to beat on my mom, then she took off. I left soon after. Last I heard the bastard was in jail for attempted robbery.” Eli chuckled. “The shithead. The guys I thought of as family were a small-time gang. I was maybe thirteen. Was with them for years. Then I saw how stupid that was, with all those dicks turning on each other, anything to stay out of juvie. Man, you can’t trust anyone on the streets.”
Which said a lot about Eli’s state of mind.
“So how long ago did you meet Carter?”
Alex knew the pair had known each other before they’d met Gideon.
“Carter? I met him, oh, maybe eight years ago? Knew right off he was different. Like Gideon. Like you,” Eli added. “It’s like I can sense there’s something different about you guys. An extra energy.”
“Yeah. Gideon’s really strong.” A powerful psychic with an odd ability to tele-blast his opponents’ minds and defeat them using their own moves against them. “So Eli, I know Carter can mesmerize. I look into his eyes and start to obey a little too easily unless he’s holding himself back.”
Eli sighed. “Yeah, that shitty serum enhanced him. He was strong before, but now he’s a little scary.” A little? “But he doesn’t use it too much. Thinks it’s cheating or something. Carter’s a Boy Scout under all that surfer ‘tude.”
Alex grinned. “He’s so easygoing. It’s weird. Because when he’s intense, he’s intense.”
“I know.”
Alex continued, “Bailey’s empathic. I can touch an object and know things. Psychometry, they call it.”
“Right.”
“And you… You’re venomous because of what Lang did to you. But what exactly could you do before that? It’s killing us that we don’t know.” Gideon had talked to Alex about it, not wanting to force Eli to talk, but needing to know his team’s strengths. Eli swore up and down he was nothing but a badass Circ with a toxic nature, who
could identify others with psychic ability. But Alex sensed more.
Eli squirmed in his seat.
“Oh, come on. I know it’s not super intelligence or extraordinary sex appeal.”
Eli huffed. “Very funny.”
“So what is it? What can you do?”
“Nothing, okay? I have no idea why Lang chose me to experiment on. I think it’s because I was friends with Carter.”
“No. I feel it when I’m near you.”
“I’m telling you, man. I don’t know. Sure as shit I never had any kind of great intuition about stuff growing up. I got into more fights, did jail time. Hell, I got nabbed by Lang. The only good thing to come out of all that are these awesome fangs and claws. And the venom.” He laughed, but Alex heard the bitterness. “Must be from my poisonous personality.”
“You know, you have a point,” Alex teased, pleased to earn a glare that turned into a grin.
“Yeah, probably. So what’s it like, being able to touch something and know shit about it?”
Alex shrugged. “I don’t know anything different. I’ve always had the ability. It took a long time to learn to control it though. I used to wear gloves all the time, and man, did people think I was weird because of it. My sister could see the future when she touched people, so she’d wear gloves too. We were the weird family.”
“Yeah, but knowing secrets. That’s gotta be a rush.”
“Not exactly. I mean, it’s great for having info on people. But you see things you can’t unsee. Like my friend being molested by her dad. Reporting that when I didn’t even know what sex was—sad and freaky. Or my third grade teacher shooting up before class. My dad setting out presents as Santa Claus. My mom wondering if she should tell him about her affair—she didn’t. They stayed together, but neither were that happy.
“People have secrets for a reason. Now I can tune it out, but growing up was hell.”
“Huh. I guess so.”
They ordered drive-thru burgers and loaded up on cheap food, then continued to drive around the outskirts of the city, finding little of note.