Critical Intelligence

by Mandy M. Roth

  “You didn’t know that she was five months pregnant?”

  Missy had been pregnant?

  Eadan shook his head. “Jack, she’s a hundred pounds on a good day. She wasn’t showing. In fact, she’d lost weight. Remember?”

  “You are the reason she almost died. One, she stepped into the line of fire because she knew you couldn’t survive if you took a normal bullet to the heart or head. She leapt in front of you to save your life.” The general teared up. “I had to sit outside of PSI’s emergency room for eight hours while they pulled bullet after bullet out of the two of you.”

  “Jack, I had no idea she was expecting and I had no clue that…”

  Green drew in a sharp breath. “That the baby Missy carried had enough supernatural Fae DNA to coat Missy’s cells with it, rendering her powerless against normal bullets but able to heal injuries caused by silver ones.”

  The general and Eadan nodded.

  “They came out and told me that they were able to stabilize her and that they could do nothing else until a Faerie was brought in to heal her. They said she had too much of it in her to accept their normal course of treatment.” General Newman shook his head. “They then stood there and told me that while they could save her, they weren’t able to save the child. That his mother had lost too much blood and that he too had been injured. How in the hell do you think that made me feel, Eadan? I wanted to kill the bastard who touched her. When she came to, she swore to my face that it wasn’t you and I believed her. I believed that Melissa would never lie to me.”

  “How the hell do you think I felt, Jack?” Eadan glared at the general and then at Roi. “My son died and my wife almost died as well. After all was said and done, Melissa had our marriage dissolved. Everything was ripped away from me then, Jack. I’ve had to learn to live with the fact that she and I will only ever be friends, not lovers, not man and wife—just friends. During all of that, we’ve both had to come to terms with the fact that our child died.”

  The general sighed and nodded his head. “It’s been hard on all of us, Eadan. That much I’ll give you.”

  “Hard?” Eadan asked, sounding shocked. “It was hell. It still is. On any given night Missy’s prone to wake up in cold sweats.”

  Wilson said something but Roi ignored him. Instead, he focused on Eadan. “You know what it’s like to fear losing her, yet you pin me here and force me to watch her in there.”

  The second he said it, Eadan stared at him. “If you didn’t see her in action, see what she’s capable of and know that she is good at what she does, then you’d have gotten in the way again. Only the next time she wouldn’t have just gotten injected with something. She would have ended up dead or captured. That’s not an option, Majors.”

  “Let me go. She needs me.”

  Wilson whistled loudly. “Children, if you will be so kind as to look at Missy, you will see that she’s in deep shit.”

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Missy stood still as Rex held two handguns on her from across the room. He leveled his gaze on her and smiled wide. “It would appear that your luck has run out. Care to tell me about the I-Ops now?”

  Knowing her chances of walking out were slim, Missy nodded. “Sure. Ask me anything.”

  “What are their names?”

  “Hewy.”

  Rex seemed to hang on her every word and he smiled lecherously at her.

  Missy continued onward. “Dewy, Lewy, Larry, Curly and Moe.”

  Instantly, his face reddened and fur covered his arms. He fired a shot at her. Dropping to the side, touching her hand to the ground behind her, she felt the bullet whizzing past her. Knowing another would follow, Missy flipped fast and rolled to the right. Bullet after bullet struck the floor as she went, so close to her that she could feel the wind nipping at her.

  Missy.

  Eadan’s voice distracted, slowing her enough that a bullet struck her upper left shoulder. Crying out, Missy tried to lunge in the other direction, knowing that Rex had her route covered. Another bullet hit her, this one in her right thigh.

  Pain radiated throughout her, blinding her to Eadan’s voice. Her body kicked into overdrive, knowing that it needed to protect itself. The silver bullets wouldn’t kill her, but they hurt like hell. Rising to her feet as fast as she could, Missy locked gazes with Rex and smiled. He fired again, this time scoring a direct heart shot. The magik that Eadan had passed on through their unborn child kicked in.

  Never able to control it, Missy let it go, let it do what it felt was best. It whipped around her fast, spinning her in a circle as more bullets came at her. None hit her. Instead, they seemed to catch in the circle of air building around her.

  Sensing someone nearing the door, Missy concentrated hard, hoping beyond hopes that the magik within her would keep anyone she cared about from entering the room until she was done dealing with Rex.

  Pain gripped her tight. Screaming out, Missy felt the power within let loose. It thrust the bullets it had collected out in all directions, cutting Rex down as they went. She stilled, no longer spinning but feeling the aftereffects of it. A bit disorientated, she watched Rex crawl on the floor. The trail of blood he left behind him told her just how injured he was.

  Covering the distance between them as fast as she could, Missy stood over Rex and put her foot on the only remaining weapon in his hand. She kicked it away fast and stared down at him. “How many of you are there in PSI?”

  “Go,” he coughed, “to hell.”

  “Been there. The view sucks but the company wasn’t as bad as I thought.”

  Rex laughed methodically. “You’ll bleed to death before … you get to help.”

  “Perhaps,” she said and smiled, even though she wanted to curl up in a ball and cry from the pain, “but I’ll die knowing that the I-Ops are safe. What will you die knowing?”

  “That you’ll never know how many of us turned.”

  A wave of dizziness took hold of her and she swayed slightly. The sound of the door opening caught her attention. The second she spotted a head of blond hair she smiled.

  “Missy-bean!” Eadan was on her in an instant, lifting her in the air and taking her to one of the tables. He set her on it lightly and stared down at her chest. “How bad is it? Did it hit your heart?”

  “Direct hit,” she bit out. “Am I covered in blood?”

  Eadan laughed. “Why are you always worried about the way you look? You have three bullets lodged in you. One in your heart. Why isn’t that more important?”

  “You are so not a girl. You couldn’t possibly get it.”

  “Let me go!”

  The sound of Roi’s voice made Missy’s breath catch. “Roi’s here?”

  Eadan sighed as he put his hand over the wound on her chest. The bullet came out in his hand and he healed her quickly. “Yeah. The general had me pin the I-Ops in place so they could watch how well you handle yourself.”

  As Eadan’s words sank in, Missy began to see red. She locked eyes with Eadan and he nodded as he backed up. “Go ahead. I’ll follow you.”

  Missy touched his hand lightly as she hopped down off the table. Pain shot through her leg and she had to bite her lower lip to keep from crying out as she went for the door. Her eyes widened as she saw all of the Immortal Ops pinned in various spots. Each one looked as though they were waiting for the opportunity to kill something.

  Turning slightly, Missy spotted the general and went straight for him. “How dare you allow them to see this?”

  “Roi, your wife is even crazier than I thought,” Wilson said. “She’s going to attack the Director of PSI.”

  Missy ignored him. She charged forward and stopped directly in front of the director. He looked down at her with tears in his eyes. “Melissa, it wasn’t easy for me to watch that but they had to know you’re on their side. They had to understand that you have their best interest and that of the nation at heart.”

  “They,” she motioned at the I-Ops, “did not need to see this. To s
ee me like that. To see me have to—”

  “Shh, Melissa. It’s okay.”

  “No, Dad, it’s not okay.”

  “Dad?” all the Ops said in unison.

  The general nodded and cleared his throat. “Yes. My wife and I adopted Melissa.”

  “Let me the fuck go. I want to go to my wife,” Roi said, growling as he went.

  “Eadan, release them.”

  “No, Melissa,” her father said softly. “They all currently want to kill Eadan and Rex.”

  “They’re welcome to kill Rex, but if one of them lays a hand on Eadan, I will personally remove it. I’m thirsty. My head hurts. And I’m suffering from the heartburn of a lifetime no doubt having something to do with the bullet he got out of it, and my leg is killing me. Pissing me off would be very bad.”

  The general glanced behind her. “Let them go, but I would advise some sort of shield for yourself until they calm down, Eadan. I can smell their desire to rip you to shreds.”

  “Ah, I’ve lived with Missy most of my life. One week a month she lets off the same vibe. I’m a hell of a lot more scared of her than them.”

  Missy turned to face him. “Get the bullets out of me. I can feel my body trying to heal over them.”

  Eadan put his hand over her shoulder and forced magik into her. It wrapped around the bullet and yanked it free of her, making a sickly sucking noise as it went. He moved to her thigh, she hissed. “Ah, damn it. I hate it when they shatter a bone.”

  “Excuse me, ma’am,” Jon said softly. “But how many times have you been shot?”

  “I don’t know. I lost count. But considering my ‘job’ for the bad guys, I’m amazed it’s not more. They shoot each other for fun.”

  Eadan backed away fast, and when Missy saw Roi running straight at her, she knew why. Roi’s eyes stayed glued on her the entire time. He moved in fast, went to hug her, and stopped. Smiling, Missy touched his cheek. “I’ll be fine.”

  “They wouldn’t let me get to you, baby. I tried. Gods, I tried.” His eyes glistened and Missy moved into his arms quickly, letting him hold her as her body healed itself. Roi kissed the top of her head and hugged her. “I’m so sorry, doll baby. I…”

  “How much did you see?” she asked, unsure she wanted an answer.

  “They saw all of it, Melissa.”

  Peeking out of Roi’s warm embrace, Missy stared at her father. His eyes narrowed as he glanced toward Eadan. “You lied to me, Melissa. You swore it wasn’t Eadan. You looked me in the eyes and told me he wasn’t the one.”

  Cringing, Missy tried to pull out of Roi’s embrace. He’d never be able to handle the knowledge that she’d bonded with another man instead of waiting for her true mate or that she’d carried another man’s child.

  “Why did you lie to me?” her father asked. “I had a right to know, Melissa. You’re my daughter and I almost lost you. And I did lose my grandson because of it. How could you not tell me?”

  Missy pushed on Roi’s chest. “I told you not to bite me. I told you that I could get it taken care of. You wouldn’t have to be in this now.”

  Shaking his head, Roi looked at her as though she were crazy. “Missy, I would have liked to know all of this, but it doesn’t change the way I feel about you. I love you. I’m sorry about your son. That had to have been hard on you, honey.”

  Hard didn’t even begin to cover it. Not wanting to lose it in front of all of the I-Ops, Missy simply nodded and stroked Roi’s cheek gently.

  “It sounds to me as if your dad did some lying himself. I’ve always existed and he’s known it. Had he told you the truth…”

  Missy drew in a sharp breath. “Eadan and I would have never bonded.”

  “She’s right,” Eadan said, shocking Roi. “Had either of us known you really did exist we would have kept our relationship from going to that level. I can’t undo the past.”

  “I didn’t ask you to.” Roi stared over the top of Missy’s head at Eadan, wanting to keep hating him but finding it harder and harder to do. “And I won’t ask her to ever forget what it is the two of you have been through.”

  “Do you love her?” Eadan asked.

  Roi nodded. “More than life itself.” Staring down at Missy, he lifted her chin and met her gaze. “I love you, Melissa Carter.”

  “Hey, why doesn’t she have your last name, General?” Wilson asked with a slight smirk.

  “Because I insisted she be given my mother’s maiden name in the event that…”

  “You were afraid that if someone found out you were the head of PSI they’d go after your family if they knew you had one,” Green said, so soft that Roi almost missed it.

  The general nodded. “Yes. My family means the world to me. My wife and I weren’t able to have children of our own and we firmly believe that Melissa is a gift from the gods.”

  “I vote we go torture Rex if he’s still breathing,” Wilson said, laughing slightly and lightening the mood significantly.

  A chorus of men agreeing with him followed. It was clear to see that they wanted to get out of the way and allow Roi the privacy he deserved. It was also too easy to see that they loved him. So did she.

  “Melissa, answer me. Why did you lie to me?”

  Sighing, Missy turned a bit in Roi’s arms so she could face her father. “Because you wouldn’t have just separated me from my handler, Dad. You would have killed Eadan for something that wasn’t his fault. If he hadn’t come down to help me, I would have died a horrible death at the hands of Pierre Molyneux. Eadan went against direct orders and came for me when he was no longer able to contact me.”

  “He made you weak to normal ammunition, Melissa. He left you and the baby vulnerable.”

  “And you sent the baby and me into the belly of the beast, Daddy. Or did you forget how much pressure you put on me? How no one but me could get the job done? No one but me could get close enough to kill him. No one but me…”

  The general looked away. “I didn’t know you were with child, Melissa.”

  “Neither did we.” She let out a soft laugh. “Do you honestly think I would have gone had I known? Do you think I would have willingly sacrificed my baby for the greater good? Sorry, Dad, but even I have a line I won’t cross. Eadan would have never let me go had he known that I was pregnant or that my genetic makeup had been altered. The man worries about me as much if not more than you do, Dad.”

  “Yeah,” Eadan said softly. “I think your husband may even worry more than me, and I didn’t even know that was possible.” He bit his lower lip and nodded. “He’s the one you’ve been looking for, Missy-bean. He’s the one who gave you Susie.”

  “Suzie?” Roi asked as he cradled her in his large, safe arms.

  Missy’s eyes widened. “Ohmygod, the doll. I have a microchip full of information on the locations of hundreds of children from the Asian experiments hidden within her.”

  “You what?” the general asked. “Why wasn’t this given to the I-Ops?”

  “Because you told me they weren’t real. How was I to know exactly where the information would end up? I turned over the group that was with me only because I’d rather sacrifice myself than others.”

  He drew in a sharp breath. “You knew that agents were turning, didn’t you?”

  Missy nodded. “Yeah. I’d overheard some of the bad guys discussing key intelligence locations here, and I knew that information had to come from sources on the inside. I didn’t know who, though, and I wasn’t about to risk innocent lives. There is a ton more information in their South American headquarters, but I wasn’t able to stay in long enough to retrieve it. That’s part of the reason I put in the next visit. I need the rest. We all do.”

  “Eadan, retrieve the doll and the chip. Get it to Lukian and stay on to aid with whatever Missy and I-Ops may need. Keep me abreast of the situation. Now, we need to debrief the Ops on what we know so far.”

  “Missy needs to let Green check her over, get cleaned up, and then rest. I’m not about to let her d
o anything else today,” Roi said, kissing her head again. “I’m pissed enough that she took off on me this morning. She needs to sleep. Whatever the I-Ops need to know can wait.”

  Eadan cleared his throat. “I still think you’re a dickhead, but I think I should warn you that Missy doesn’t take kindly to being ordered to go home and rest.”

  Missy was about to comment when Roi turned her in his arms and lifted her chin slightly. When he dropped his head down and captured her lips with his, she was powerless to fight him. Not that she even wanted to.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Green put his hand up. “Excuse me, but are you telling me that Krauss has somehow managed to introduce supernatural DNA into the bloodstream of an adult human and not kill them?”

  Roi just stood there in silence as Missy nodded. “Not exactly. From what I can gather he’s been able to introduce small quantities of it, increasing physical strength and so on but not leaving them with the ability to shift or be immortal. He has, however, found a way to enhance those who are already supernatural.”

  “That explains the tests done on the arm.”

  “Tests?” Missy asked.

  Green handed her a file. “Yes. When you were attacked outside the compound, Roi managed to sever an arm from one of the assailants.”

  Missy cast him a small smile and waggled her brows. “That’s just one of the reasons I love you, baby.”

  As neutral as he tried to stay around her, it was nearly impossible. Her scent alone drove him mad. Seeing his team work with her as though she was one of their own only intensified it. The need to bury himself in her and fuck away the visions of her being tortured at the hands of the traitor PSI agents was almost all consuming.

  Wilson snorted and all eyes went to him. “What?” he asked, shrugging nonchalantly. “No one else found the one-armed bandit thing funny?”